Ball joint or axle joint?

[Darrman]

I have been tracking down this deep popping noise coming from the front of the truck. I went to turn the wheels last week, just for shock absorber clearance, and the front end popped again. So I checked for the ball joints earlier, the passenger side is rock solid, the drivers side has a bit of play in it.
However according to my chilton, you are supposed to see the movement between the steering knuckle flanges, and the beam flanges, i.e., where the knuckle connects to the beam with the ball joints. However the movement is not there, its in the axle shaft, as the tire rocks, its flexing at the axle joint. So what is the deal? That tire is leaning in more than the passenger side, the camber is way out, I have new skyjacker coils to put in, but I want to fix this popping problem before I install em. Thanks!

 

[MrShorty]

There's movement in the driver's wheel, but not at the ball joints? Are the wheel bearings properly adjusted? Play in the tie rod ends?

 

[Darrman]

I have had this problem since I bought it, I installed new rotors recently, wheel bearing were inspected, repacked and torqued to 20-21 inch pounds. This did not affect the popping at all.
I have not had any play in the steering, and the popping usually comes from backing up, hitting the brakes, or turning hard. I regreased the auto hubs, they are in great shape and work fine. The radius bushings are new poly's.
The ball joints and the two peices that they run through are staying perfectly still, the whole wheel, rotor, backing plate assembly is moving and is wiggling the axle shaft with it. Not a whole lot, maybe a 1/24 at the most.

 

[Darrman]

ok, I got out and looked at everything more closely today. When the tire/rim is moved by hand, the shaft is loose as hell where it goes through the steering knuckle. The rear shaft seal/plate is moving around also. So I am guessing the shaft bearing is out, without pulling the rotor off, its hard to tell.
When I was down at the beach and was in 4 wheel, I was getting a rrr-rrr noise at that wheel, that would go away as soon as its back in 2 wheel.
So, does anybody have any experiance at replacing the shaft bearing? Any help will be greatly appreaciated, thanks.

 

[Brock94]

So, does anybody have any experiance at replacing the shaft bearing? Any help will be greatly appreaciated, thanks.

Can't comment on whether that bearing is your problem-- I assume your talking about the bearing inside the spindle where the front axle shaft comes through the middle. You have to remove brakes, rotors, the ABS sensor protective cover (if you have 4WABS)-- then the spindle needs to be removed from the knuckle. This can be tricky because the spindle tends to rust onto the knuckle. The needle bearings can then be pulled out from the back of the spindle. If your ball joints have a lot of miles on them you might as well replace them too at this point because you will have to do 70% of the work anyway.

Search for threads on ball joint replacement for further info-- I know there are a couple good write-ups on this process. Also, if you do this, you should replace the axel u-joints while you're in there. I'm kicking myself for not doing that when I did my ball joints.

Good luck!

 

[Rhett]

The radius bushings are new poly's.

Keep in mind that polyurethane RA bushings (new, old, or in-between) are more prone to making pop sounds under certain suspension conditions than are rubber RA bushings.

Are you sure you're not just hearing normal TTB poly bushing pop?

 

[Darrman]

I dont know, this is one hell of a pop, you can feel it through the floor and into the seat. Also, this pop has been around before and after the new poly's.
Unfortunatly, I cant make it pop, it decides when it wants too, so diagnosing has been difficult.
I installed the skyjacker coils and warrior shackles on monday, going to get bushings and alignment done in the morning. Then this weekend I am going to a buddies to lift the truck by the frame and go over everything, checking for damage and loose nuts and bolts, maybe I can figure it out then.
Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate it.

 

[goliath]

my truck "popped" for many months after i bought it, and yes i completely rebuilt all moving parts in the front trying to solve it. it was random and dammed ammoying... anyways, the fix was this. the big bolt from the bottom that held the radius arm to the pivot beam under the coil had losened slightly and the beam was banging back and forth on the bolt. it wasnt lose enough to tighten by hand with a breaker bar, but a few good zips with a 200ft pound air impact hammer fixed it. only tightened a quarter turn, but no more klunk.

 

[Darrman]

Thanks, I will check that out this weekend. I got the truck back from the shop earlier, they did a great job bringing the tires back in, I was a little worried that they wouldnt line back up.