F-350 Front end jingle, driving me insane.

[fabiodriven]

I drive a 1999 F-350 4 door dually. It's two wheel drive, six speed stick, and it's got the 7.3 diesel in it. It's a phenomenal truck, I absolutely love it. It has an issue that's driving me up a friggin wall though...

It has the twin I-beam front end (which I like), but it's got this jingle that I can not seem to fix. I had a feeling it was the sway bar end links or the shocks. Both looked like they had never been replaced so they were obvious culprits. I did the shocks first, front and rear. The noise persisted. Just yesterday I did the sway bar end links and thought for sure that would have taken care of it. You could physically see where the washers on the old links had been jingling. I got in the truck this morning for work and much to my dismay the jingle is still there.

I know it isn't easy to describe a noise over the internet, but it is something on the I-beams for sure. It more than likely is on the ends of the I-beams where the spindle is. You can hear the noise in sync with the bouncing of the front wheels over bumps. I googled "Ford F350 front end jingle" and got a bunch of generic answers that were no help.

I have a customer who has offered to put his mechanic's diagnostic microphone set on it and track down the problem for sure. It's a set of mics you place near where you think the noise is emanating from and then take the vehicle for a ride while wearing headphones that let you hear the noise. As you narrow it down, you move the mics closer to what you think the issue may be. This is getting ridiculous at this point and any (non obvious) pointers would be great.

Thank you boys and girls.

[tri again]

ford-trucks.com is my other fav place for answers.

so...? jingle like a loose washer, eh?

Hope some important bolt isn't coming loose.

We had a customer freaking out because of a clunk on easy cornering.
Her jack handle was tipping back and forth in the trunk wheel well.

My other favorite is when someone else rides with you to hear a funny noise
but their extra weight takes just enough slop out of suspension parts
so it can't be heard.

Did someone hide a spare key under the hood, hanging from a keyring?

[DasUberKraut]

fabio - have you inspected the cv axles and joints? when the bearings go they make an annoying rattle.

[Mosh]

9-10 times it is the radius arm bushings where the front support arms attach under the doors. Those arms come backwards off the I beams towards the rockers and attach to brackets on the frame.
There are large bushings and washers in there that wear out at the bracket where the arm passes through. Sometimes the brackets are worn too, which Ford riveted to the frame.
They are a real PITA IMO, but not major.

If you need brackets, you have to torch out the rivet heads, air out the anchors that are left and bolt new brackets on. And of course, new bushing and washer kits.
Best way to check is jack up the front end and use a prybar to pry the large bolt up and down behind the big washers. If they wiggle alot, then that is your noise most likely.
We do a ton of them.

[tommerp]

Wheel bearings on that heavy old beast?

[Vealmonkey]

I had a buddy that had a noise like this on his ford f-250. It ended up being a box end wrench that he dropped down in his engine bay and it got stuck in a place where it wouldn't bounce out of, but it bounced around enough that you heard it jingle back and forth. He went bonkers for about a month. I know this probably doesn't help though. Best of luck getting it sorted out.

[bkm]

I'm sure you have already tried this but try and jacking up the front end and beating on the tires, I-Beams, and suspension parts with a heavy rubber deadblow to replicate the noise. It might be easier to locate like that.

[fabiodriven]

Thanks for all the replies boys, but I have a feeling Mosh hit the nail on the head. I was kind of hoping you'd reply Rob. I just had a fellow mechanic take it for a ride about 15 minutes ago. We came to the same conclusion that you did Rob. I think it may be the trailing arm bushings. Upon inspection they look fine. I would expect to see a rust trail if that were the issue, but I can see it totally being the problem rust trail or not. I'm gonna go jack it up right now and see what I can find.

[tri again]

9-10 times it is the radius arm bushings where the front support arms attach under the doors. Those arms come backwards off the I beams towards the rockers and attach to brackets on the frame.
There are large bushings and washers in there that wear out at the bracket where the arm passes through. Sometimes the brackets are worn too, which Ford riveted to the frame.
They are a real PITA IMO, but not major.

If you need brackets, you have to torch out the rivet heads, air out the anchors that are left and bolt new brackets on. And of course, new bushing and washer kits.
Best way to check is jack up the front end and use a prybar to pry the large bolt up and down behind the big washers. If they wiggle alot, then that is your noise most likely.
We do a ton of them.

My F250's are worn so bad that it's been graduated to farm truck.
I just wrapped an old atc90 pull rope around the bushings to fake up the slack
between the bushing and frame mount.
Of course that truck never leaves the property but the rope wrap trick may just confirm
things if the jingle stops.

[jays375]

I would lean towards those damn radius arm bushings.Personally I would cut the brackets off and install new.Make sure to buy good bushings,cheapos will wear right out.Last time I changed them out I really cheated.Luckily I had use of a 1" drive air gun.That made short work of the nuts,needed alot of extension.Now for the slacker part of the project.I hooked a come along to the front end and cranked it.There is just enough give to change the bushings out.Probally because it was two wheel drive.Don't think you could get away with that on a four wheel drive.I really hated that truck,only had it a year.You might want to check the center bushing out.Don't jack the wheels completely off the ground.Just take the weight off and check with a bar.

[fabiodriven]

I noticed a couple of you keep referring to my truck as though it's four wheel drive. My truck is two wheel drive.

Problem solved!!!

This may be a bit tough to picture, but I'm going to attempt to explain it anyways. When I got my truck, one of the first things I did was to have a leveling kit installed. With this particular set-up a block is inserted between the base of the coil spring and the top of the I-beam. There is a very big bolt that goes through the I-beam and connects the trailing arm to the I-beam. You remove the nut from the top of that bolt (which is actually inside the coil spring, at the bottom where it meets the I-beam), insert the spacer between the bottom of the spring and the top of the I-beam, and then install a spacing stud that essentially "extends" the length of that big bolt. You then install the big washer that holds the spring to the I-beam when the suspension is drooped, tighten the nut, and viola!
You're done.

What happened is over time the spacer which is made of a composite material compressed to the point that the nut holding the bottom of the spring tight to the I-beam is no longer snug. The washer sits there loose on the bolt, I-beam bounces over bumps, washer rattles around with the suspension. Just gotta snug 'em down again.

Thanks a lot guys.

[tri again]

Any chance of metal fatigue with that bolt that's been 'loose'?

[fabiodriven]

No. It's not a head bolt where stretching is a concern. A bolt of this size in this application should last the life of the vehicle.

[DasUberKraut]

Glad you found your issue Fabio... but, I gotta ask, why own a truck if it's not 4 wheel?

[jb2wheels]

Glad you found your issue Fabio... but, I gotta ask, why own a truck if it's not 4 wheel?

Because:
- it's cheaper
- it's lighter.
- the tow rating is higher.
- it rides better.
- it has fewer wear items.
- it gets better mileage.
- it sits lower.

Because a grown up knows he can save $10k on a truck when he'll never use the 4x4 for anything other than posing and compensating...