Ford F150 - strange popping coming from frame?

1993 f150, 213,000 miles i have a strange popping noise that sounds as if it is coming from underneath the frame, when i take off from a dead stop.. this occurs most often when the truck has been sitting for awhile, but it can happen when the truck has been running as well. i have had the u-joints checked several times, i am told they are fine.

Wow, off the top of my head, this could be almost anything. How do your cab and bed mounts look? Also, motor mounts maybe. Time to start crawling around underneath and looking at anything that appears worn out. Hopefully somebody will know of a likely component to fail, but with that many miles, it could be a lot of things.

theres a TSB for frame rivets. it requires drilling out the bad rivet and replacing it with a grade 8 bolt. also get under there with a 1/2 inch wratchet and a socket check the bolts on the crossmember under the tranny, or any other bolt you suspect could be loose.

You could also check the slip shaft on ur driveshaft, a lil lube in there is supposed to do wonders for driveline noise.

The TSB seems likely thou...

Read the whole TSB.

sounds like a control arm problem,does it happen when you are turning a certain direction from a stop?

he doesn't exactly have control arms....ttb arms scissor down in the front, coil sprung with radius arms running back to the frame rails.

ok...check your muffler bearing

i have that problem with mine, i greased balljoints, tie rods and everything with grease fittings, but i think its the radius arms running lengthwise to the frame. the rubber mount could be shot, i get the sound whenever i hit dips on an angle.

I just had time to sit and go through that entire TSB. That is a VERY comprehensive TSB. I mean, I'm not here to blast Ford at all so don't misinterpret this. We're dealing with trucks that are a decade old or more. Is it just me, or is this TSB a long winded way for Ford to say, get under there and check and make sure everything is still tight and secure because we built these a long time ago and we're not sure they holding together? That's a lot of stuff to go over, even if you can narrow it down by noise area. just my opinion.

I'd rather have Ford telling me that now then my truck telling me when it's broke down on the side of the road with the chassis on one side and the bed on the other lol.

TSB is good. But I'd start with something cheap and easy, first. When it's after it's been sitting, it's because something has "settled" and has to overcome friction to pop. I'd first lube all the suspension. That means spraying WD40 on all of the spring contacts and leaf springs, and '40 or silicone lube on the shock bushings. You might also spray any bolted/ riveted connections on the frame. May not be the problem, but it may, and it's cheap and it's easy.

WD-40 isn't half thick enough to use on suspension components. It's a penetrating oil with some parrafin dissolved in it, and it's not good for much. And even if it DOES stop the noise temporarily, it certainly doesn't "fix" anything. It just shows you that you have a problem where you sprayed. Letting the parts continue to move & wear only makes it worse. Lock them up so they can't move, or they'll wear through &/or break off. Yes, these trucks are old, and they were designed before CAD/CAM had become the norm, so they have their flaws. Here's another one to watch for:



If you trace it to the rear springs, try this:



This will also help you narrow down any noise:

All good info.
Yep, not permanent, but you've identified it and saved the cost/ trouble of those rivets, if that's what it is.
And suspension parts, be they bushings or where the spring rests on the retainer, or leaves (leafs?,) move against each other. Can't stop it. Once you've ID'd it, replace the bushings, clean the rust, etc.
I like the easy trace approach first.

radius arm bushings dude!