Mulestang

Something in the front suspension of my truck as developed a rattle that I only hear when I hit a bump. Not suspension savvy. Where should I look first? Any troubleshooting tips are appreciated.

corey_lax

Ball joints are notorious on our trucks. It's a good place to start. But it could be anything. You should get underneath and move stuff around to see if anything has play. Check out all the bushings to make sure they are all intact. It shouldn't take long to find something that is out of wack.

grss429

sounds like swaybar endlinks.. if it's making a rattle over bumps, could also be BJ but i've never had to replace them on any of the f150's i've worked on or owned

snowborderus

Start with the sway bar end links, they're the easiest to check and cheapest. Disconnect both sides and re-drive, see if noise changes.

grss429

dont really have to disconnect them, most of the time the bushings are gone.. or you can see bare metal, which rubs on the hole of the swaybar and makes noise

Mulestang

Thanks for pointers. I'll be checking it out this weekend. I know I have a split sway bar end link bushing on the upper left side, but I don't think it's bad enough to be making the rattle. Never say never, though.

LakelandFordParts

I would have to agree, sway bar links are the likely issue. If you find that the links are the issue and you want to buy OEM we have the links available. The part number for a 2008 RWD is 5L3Z5K483CA and you can see them on our site here: http://parts.lakelandford.com/p/LINK...3Z5K483CA.html

techrep

iTrader: (1)

Also check your coil springs ... they do crack.

Mulestang

Yep. Found 3 cracked bushings now. Other than OEM, can anyone recommend a quality aftermarket link with bushings for my 2WD. Moogs seem to be equivalent in price to OEM. Are they decent? Open to options. Thanks

nwf_snake

I put on Moog with the poly bushings when I replaced my sway bar links. Work great!