cold weather and clunking shocks

[Fb73]

I had that weird souns for 3 days, and today it was gone...To be continued...

 

[jeffjam]

Updates?

A couple of things.
There are seveal owners who say their truck is quite.
Some owners with minor noise.
Some with major noise.
All front end noise isn't created equal.
I'm sure the supplement manual is talking about some other sound, not what I have. My noise happens even when the shocks are not under load from driving. Any change in the road, even a small crack.

For all we know Ford found the shocks were making noise and the cost to resolve was not worth it to them. So they put a line in the supplement manual to stop a percentage of owners frim asking Ford to repair. Ford doesn't have a great track record of proavtively fixing issues on their own unless immense customer or regulatory pressure is applied.

Or, maybe the problem is related to inner fender liners for some of us.

My GT500 made the exact same sounds once it hit 7000 miles. The problem was upper control arms needed replaced and a rubber bushing was bad. Ford issued a TSB. My car was fixed under the TSB. No more noise loud clunk on bumps.
Gt500 also had loose inner fender liners. Securing those removed the remaining noise.

So last night I take my wife out. On the way home, near my house I take the truck off road to a very large open bottom (called a field or meadow or whatever in other parts of the country) where a corn crop grows in Spring and Summer, which is both moderately rough and extremely muddy. I ran 60 mph through this bottom for a half mile.
Agreed, the Raptor is smooth. No doubt about it. Like riding on a pillow. A noisy pillow. Front end makes the same loose clunking noise at high speeds offroad, low speeds off road, and on blacktop (asphalt).

Today I am going to mess with the inner fenders. I think I can take a lot of the noise out of the front by securing the inner fender liners. I have never checked the sway bar and skid plate bolts. I'm going to check them today.

Even my wide said "Sure makes a lot of noise"
There seems to be mixed results from each Raptor owner.

Front right shock type noise.
Or front left shock type noise.
I very seldom hear people complain about noise in both areas, simultaneously.

I do love the tuck. A good seat of seat covers, a light bar up front, led lights in the bumper and some ambient lighting in a few area and it will have everything I want or need. Just need to get rid of any abnormal Clunks.

Hey MJslasherADMIN, any updates on this? I have one myself that was giving this same problem since 2,000 miles, its now at 10,000 and is much worse. Its actually so frequent and loud that it sounds like somethings dropping off! This is definitely not the sound that ford refers to in the manual. I have checked EVERY bushing, bolt and component under the front of my truck and all are ok. Finally I changed the struts and put on a pair of FX4 ones just to test the theory. The noise disappeared immediately and I now have no doubt its the shocks. The real problem now is how do you correct it? Buying new shocks will only mean they will ALSO eventually sound the same UNLESS as Fox and Ford know about it they have since made changes, but I also doubt that. I have just written to Fox so I will wait and see what they say.

 

[jeffjam]

update........awful customer service FOX SHOCKS

Still have yet to receive an email from FOX SHOCKS even though I have now sent 2 in over a week! Called them today TWICE and couldn't get to speak to anyone win service. Spoke to some guy who wasn't the smartest person in the world. Tells me something must be wrong my shocks, send them back for a rebuild. Absolutely worst customer service ever. Seriously considering throwing them in the bin and buying an alternate brand!

 

[Big Johnson]

I found the fix, get Kings and throw the fox in the garbage!

 

[Towerhog]

Food for thought. This was my case. Had a clunk in pass front area when going over small to medium bumps in the road (heave or frost bumps). Very annoying. I knew there was some issues with the stock FOX shocks making noise, but this wasn't noise coming from the hydraulic motion of the piston and valve. Kind of felt like something was loose. But I had already had the shocks off many times and had torqued the lower bolt to 425 ftlbs so I knew it wasn't a loose lower bolt. I went as far as replacing the hub and the half shaft just to rule those out. Well, those weren't the problem. Damn. So after putting up with this clunk for a few months I decided to get the wheels off the ground and do some checking. With the tires a few inches off the ground I started checking the lower ball joint by putting a long crow bar under the tire and lifting up. Ball joint was tight, it wasn't budging. But what I found a few seconds later was the lower shock bushing moving up and down. I don't know how those are assembled but mine was definitely moving around and there is no repair kit for it. So.... with CC in hand I bought 2 new shocks. The new bushings in those shocks were so tight I couldn't move them by hand as I could with my old shocks. Got everything put back together and VIOLA...... No more clunk. And this is a truck that only has 8500 miles on it. So for those with a clunk in the front, get under there and check those bushings, they might be your problem.

 

[Towerhog]

Ok... Got off my ass and tore into the lower FOX shock bushing and this is what I found. 2 large aluminum washers/spacers on either side as well as 2 green dust covers. The bushing itself is made up of a large aluminum tube with what looks like thick clear urethane sleeve with dimples bonded to the tube. As for the shock portion, it looks to have a sleeve with rubber bonded to it that the bushing fits into. A very loose fit. It seems as if the urethane bushing with the dimples has worn out. I don't know of any replacement for it. Except to send it to FOX for repair.

 

[13raptorcrew]

I found the fix, get Kings and throw the fox in the garbage!

Garbage, also known as my garage... Just let me know how much shipping is...

 

[Matmanand4]

MJslasherADMIN, this sounds and feels like mine "The rear end noise is not as severe. The rear end sounds like the tires have 20 pounds to much air in them. Sounds like the tires are made out of concrete. Every crack, bump, gravel causes a thud." I even lowered the pressure to 38psi, no help.
And the last post on the shock bushings is interesting. Seems like if those were wore or improperly installed could cause the issue with a rough feeling ride with the back end bouncing all over the place. Hard to believe multiple shocks could be this way though.
I have had this issue on my 14 screw since I got it. The 13 I had was not like this, and my wife noticed it as well. But how to get the dealer to warranty this if it is the problem?

 

[FordService]

...I have had this issue on my 14 screw since I got it. The 13 I had was not like this, and my wife noticed it as well. But how to get the dealer to warranty this if it is the problem?

How many miles are on your truck, Matmanand4? I'll do some research and see what options are available.

Crystal

 

[Matmanand4]

Around 4200 miles. It rides totally different from my 13. With all being equal I am not sure why. Only difference is the 14 has the beadlocks. Thanks for the help.