Can anyone recommend a shop near me?

[gtguyonli]

Hi, I am not sure if I am posting in the correct forum? I recently purchased a 2004 F250 Lariat and I have posted before on the problems that I had with the front end. Well, the noise is still there, I am tired of accepting the fact that this is a truck, it is heavy, it has 63000 miles, I am tired of hearing this, this truck should not sound like the front end is thumping all over when I drive down a bumpy road. I thought I found a member on here that owns a shop that would be willing to look at it, but I guess not, he has cancelled on me 3 times already. I don't have alot of money to put into it, I already put more than I wanted to spend in this truck. But I am getting disgusted, I really would like the noise gone. I am located in Babylon, New York, that's on Long Island. If anyone on here could recommend a shop that could fix this I would really appreciate it. This truck really has absorbed so much of my time and energy that I am not even enjoying it anymore. Any help or advice would be appreciated. thank you.

[mcflan]

ball joints? do you have auto locking hubs? one of them could be stuck on. have you looked at your rotors to see if they're warped? does it sound likes its coming from the engine itself?

[gtguyonli]

All has been replaced or rebuilt. Not an engine noise. It is definitly the front end, as I posted before It sounds liks an old NYC taxi going down the road. I need someone to recommend a good front end mechanic in my area.

Originally Posted by mcflan

ball joints? do you have auto locking hubs? one of them could be stuck on. have you looked at your rotors to see if they're warped? does it sound likes its coming from the engine itself?

[ford/kubota owner]

were the drag link bushings replaced? I had a loud thump on my 2002 f350. It was corrected after new upper and lower ball joints, and the drag ling bushings. Good luck!

[m-chan68]

As already posted, upper and/or lower ball joints will cause a "tapping/knocking" type sound. Similarly, play in the front sway bar end links will cause this type of noise too (which wouldn't be a bad idea to replace anyway, since replacement ones from Ford are updated to a sealed, lubricated style anyway). The sway bar bushings on these trucks commonly wear out, allowing the sway to rattle over bumps too.

Lastly, since this is a 2004 model year, check for worn out plastic leaf spring isolators. They are located on the rearward side of the front leak springs where they bolt up to the spring shackle. If they are worn through, you will get metal to metal contact over bumps that will produce a "creaking" or squeaking type noise, if this happens to be one of your issues.

[gtguyonli]

The dealer replaced the upper and lower ball joints, the sway bar bushings, they rebuilt he locking hubs and also replaced some kind of bumpers in the leaf springs. With all that it should be quiet as a mouse. I took the truck on a 500 mile trip today and it ran great, it's the first long trip I took it on, however, the thumping noise was driving me crazy, the winter has torn up our already bad New York highways and at times it sounded like a rapid fire machine gun. Any other suggestions??

Originally Posted by m-chan68

As already posted, upper and/or lower ball joints will cause a "tapping/knocking" type sound. Similarly, play in the front sway bar end links will cause this type of noise too (which wouldn't be a bad idea to replace anyway, since replacement ones from Ford are updated to a sealed, lubricated style anyway). The sway bar bushings on these trucks commonly wear out, allowing the sway to rattle over bumps too.

Lastly, since this is a 2004 model year, check for worn out plastic leaf spring isolators. They are located on the rearward side of the front leak springs where they bolt up to the spring shackle. If they are worn through, you will get metal to metal contact over bumps that will produce a "creaking" or squeaking type noise, if this happens to be one of your issues.

[Rohan]

You ain't kidding about the roads up there. Driving down Southern State Exp. at 55mph in any lane just about scared me to death this winter. And you can forget about Verrazano Bridge! That thing feel like its going to fall right into the bay! I drove up to Merrick from Atlanta to visit family for the holidays and the lanes are so narrow and the road is horrible. You can forget about driving in the inside lane in anything wider than a subcompact due to all the drains that are sunk 3+ inches into the pavement. It definitely made me rethink not getting dual steering stabilizers