Anyone else notice excessive clunking caused when ice developes in wheel wells?
 

I know a person will have SOME noise when ice developes in the wheel wells but my 2012 F-150 4x4 is excessive. I can hear a very obvious knocking/clunking sounds from every little bump in the road when im driving. The noise is bad enough it sounds like something is going to fall off! As soon as the truck melts off its gone but i cant figure out for the life of me exactly where it is that the ice is able to make it become that loud and annoying. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this??? My other fords have had slight noises caused by ice buildup but not even close to as bad as this one. If i knew exactly where it developes that makes it so noticeable im thinking there may be a way to prevent it of at least minimize it.... If im driving on snowpacked roads where you just have a powder buildup under it i dont hear anything...pretty much strictly an ice issue. Ideas?

No?

Nope. I get ice build up between the cab and bed. But i just clean off the tonneau better, and it takes care of it.

This happens to me often. The ice seems to build all over so I can't narrow it down. All I do now is hose it all down weekly and haven't had a problem since.

Well, it is ice, snow, sleet, water, sand and salt season. The crap just naturally gets in every nook and cranny underneath. I doubt you have any issue that the rest of us don't have, especially since the noise goes away when it melts. Just one of those things. Just try to keep it clean under there.

I love the truck but man is it annoying. Sounds exactly like a loose shock or sway bar end link....You can even feel it in the floorboard. Every little crack in the road makes it clunk like this. Drives me nuts that a brand new truck would sound like this just from ice freezing in the wheel wells. My wife keeps thinking something is going to fall off when she hears it. I really thought it was the ice between the running boards and the body but if i knock it off it will still be there.... Mostly occurs after driving on wet roads and then as it freezes to the truck it gets more and more noticeable.....Turning the stereo up does help ;) ....if it was just something i could hear i would care less but you can really feel it too and when your on a road trip and you have listen and feel it for several hundred miles it will make you say a few choice words. Summer is just around the corner thank god :)

Yep happens to my truck.

Well at least its not just me that has heard it. I have been a Mechanic for 20 years now and have spent plenty of time chasing noises in customers vehicles and also told them that some noises are just to be expected to some degree. However this one is one i felt was worth mentioning on here so i could see if anyone has found out where the main source of it comes from. I have considered putting some splash guards on it to see if it will help keep it from buiding up as much in some places such as the running boards but im doubting this will help much if at all as far as the noise.

Off-topic (couldn't resist ... old joke) ...

It's not ice bulid-up ... It's the result of fender-bergs. http://www.gdmjoe.com/biggrin.gif

We return you now to your regularly scheduled topic discussion ...
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Your not alone. Living in NY I hear the same noises everytime it snows and get snow/ice built up. I thought something was wrong too. Drives me nuts cause I keep thinking something is about to break or fall off but I'm glad you posted this and my nerves over it can be calmed. Just glad that winter is just about over now and I can get underneath and clean off any salt build up from winter.

On a side note I have used spray cans of rubber undercoating the past two winters on the frame and have seen great results so far. By the middle of summer it ends up chipping off almost completely but I've been quite happy with the protection it's providing thus far. Seems to make the salt come off much easier when I go through the car wash every week. Not to get off topic but figured I'd mention it for anyone else in the salt belt regions.