Subtle Clunking

[Hemmy]

So reading that people are trading in the truck as it’s unbearable I guess I don’t have the issue….. or I’m used to trucks….. still haven’t seen a good video that I can make out the sound that’s so bad…. Anyone?

I feel the same way. I hear a little noise that to me sounds like something could be loose, but definitely not unbearable. I wonder if what I hear and consider minimal is the same thing others hear and freak out about. Either way, I love my experience with the truck with almost 6000 miles on it.

 

[1BAD454SSv2]

Glad the Raptor R wont have this issue. The V8 exhaust will cancel out the clunking sound.

 

[EMY92]

I feel the same way. I hear a little noise that to me sounds like something could be loose, but definitely not unbearable. I wonder if what I hear and consider minimal is the same thing others hear and freak out about. Either way, I love my experience with the truck with almost 6000 miles on it.

All of you suckers putting mileage on their trucks while the rest of us "have" trucks with odometers that remain close to constant, no insurance payments, and no loan payments.

 

[Rmax150]

So I currently have a Gen 2 and looking at taking the plunge but trying to study bugs before I end of neck deep in them too. Seems like there’s 2 suspicions: drivetrain (front driveshaft) and shocks.

I like experiments so has anybody tried:
Noise comparisons in different shock modes? Could it be a live valve issue? Is there more or less noise in normal vs sport vs baja settings?

Drive over the same culprit road in 4A and 4Hi. Better, same, or worse?

Try pushing the brake and gas maintaining speed in 2wd and 4wd. This tension could take the slack out of the brake calipers and front driveshaft. Better, same, or worse?

Grab some deer corn or something heavy and put 400 lbs in the bed. Better, same, or worse? Repeat steps for shock modes and 4wd.

I went to drive a new Gen 3 yesterday and at startup, it sounded like there was a major exhaust leak and godawful rattle. Got out and noise was in the rear so I cycled the exhaust from sport to quiet back to sport and it went away immediately. Does the exhaust valve stick a lot? Anyone have that issue? That would really irritate me using remote start all the time.

 

[BellHeli407]

They replaced my shocks at 1600 miles and said they were no good. New shocks and the noise is the same. Drives me insane.

 

[speed77]

Any 37s that have this issue or just 35s?

 

[GoldBeach]

Any 37s that have this issue or just 35s?

I've read at least one, maybe two, 37 owners that claimed to have the problem. But that's it.

Noise comparisons in different shock modes?

Mine is the same in all suspension modes.

Drive over the same culprit road in 4A and 4Hi. Better, same, or worse?

I've tried that on the road I live on and it doesn't seem to change anything. My road and driveway are 100% repeatable for causing the clunk. I have never driven down my driveway and not felt it, so that is my test track.

Try pushing the brake and gas maintaining speed in 2wd and 4wd.

I have not tried this. I can check it out in a few hours and see if anything happens. The only thing that seems to make it go away is increasing speed. Under 25 it is there, over 30 or 35 and it seems to be undetectable. That's why I have felt it could be the front driveshaft, once it rotates at a high enough rpm it stabilizes? Idk.

put 400 lbs in the bed. Better, same, or worse? Repeat steps for shock modes and 4wd.

I don't know weight, but I have had firewood loaded to just over the bed rail height. It was enough to cause 3 inches of sag in the rear. I've also had it loaded with off-road gear that had to be a few hundred pounds. It does not change anything. The worst I've experienced it was driving off road down fire roads. That was the first time I considered it to be near unbearable. Literally, hours of hearing it and feeling unstable over the slightest of bumps. The steering and gas/brake pedal feel makes going into corners much less settled.

I went to drive a new Gen 3 yesterday and at startup, it sounded like there was a major exhaust leak and godawful rattle. Got out and noise was in the rear so I cycled the exhaust from sport to quiet back to sport and it went away immediately. Does the exhaust valve stick a lot? Anyone have that issue? That would really irritate me using remote start all the time.

My exhaust rattle is every start. Sounds like crap until it warms up, and even then doesn't seem to go away completely. My dealer still keeps threatening to fix it so I'm waiting until I take it in for first oil change soon. Then I'm taking it to a different dealer if they don't replace the muffler.

Glad the Raptor R wont have this issue. The V8 exhaust will cancel out the clunking sound.

I doubt it will. If it hasn't been address by then, or culprit parts being replaced by non offending parts on the R, under 25 mph or so there is no level of music or sound that will cover the pedal feel or steering chatter.

I feel the same way. I hear a little noise that to me sounds like something could be loose, but definitely not unbearable. I wonder if what I hear and consider minimal is the same thing others hear and freak out about. Either way, I love my experience with the truck with almost 6000 miles on it.

I also love my 5,000 miles, but I don't think you would be able to consider what my truck does as minimal. If someone lived in town and their roads are normal potholes and a series of small bumps, it possible that you wouldn't experience it often. But my roads surrounding my house areabsolute hot junk from farm equipment and flood irrigation. I test drove it and even drove it 20+ miles home without noticing it, but as soon as I got to my country roads it became a "wtf is that" moment. You having 6k miles on it probably would have felt it by now, so I'm assuming you don't have the issue on your truck.

So reading that people are trading in the truck as it’s unbearable I guess I don’t have the issue….. or I’m used to trucks….. still haven’t seen a good video that I can make out the sound that’s so bad…. Anyone?

You likely don't have the issue. I've owned several trucks over the years, late 70s dodge trucks, '74 chevy, ' 84 GMC Jimmy, '90 toyota, '97 '01 and 2010 Z71s... under 25 mph over bumps my truck feels and sounds worse than all of them including our 200k mile2015 silverado 1500 bare bones rubber floor ranch truck. (Maybe not the 77 dodge). Unfortunately, I can't get a decent video of the sound yet. The cameras seem to pick up tire noise or my daughter's car seat buckles and make them seem equal on audio. They are not. And the pedal feel and somewhat of a chatter through the steering wheel that coincides with the clunking is what pushes it past midly annoying.

 

[dspangler]

I definitely do not think that this issue is shock related. I had this issue on 2 different raptors. The dealer replaced the shock and that did not fix the issue. The issue was found to be the lower control arm bolt. That has a very specific, and high torque value. With that said, I think that the control arm also has a slot, and not a hole for the mounting bolt. My 'clunk' sound was due to this issue. You can solve via new bolts / correct torques (I think they are 1-time use), or see if anyone has created a 'cam bolt' kit. This is a specific bolt with a feature on it that has the slot shape so they do not allow for any movement. I am not saying I have the answer on this... just thoughts of things to review.

**For the guys who still have issues, check the gap between control arm and shock...if there is slop, that is also a source of this clunk. For reference, the Icon shocks have cleared up this clunk in earlier trucks. They use shouldered spacers that fit in the control arm (like the cam bolt kit mentioned above) and uses a 5/8" bolt. Lower and upper mounts use spherical bearings.

 

[DragonWheelies]

So reading that people are trading in the truck as it’s unbearable I guess I don’t have the issue….. or I’m used to trucks….. still haven’t seen a good video that I can make out the sound that’s so bad…. Anyone?

I'll get a video later today. Its really noticeable so it will be hard to miss even in video. Locating it is another story...

I just ran through the main suspension components and did not find anything clearly loose or moving.

Still waiting on a call back from Fox... been two days though.

 

[elking]

It would be interesting to do a Yes or No survey on this forum of all gen3 2021 and 2022 owners that are experiencing this clunk. It doesn’t solve the issue but it may shine some light on the percentage of owners that have this annoying clunk. I would volunteer to set up the survey but I don’t know how to set it up.
I have an order for a 2022 35 package and this thing has me real worried.