Lots of noise from truck bed

Tiny
TMCINTOSH11
  • MEMBER
  • 2002 FORD F-150
  • 5.4L
  • V8
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 268,231 MILES
Hello guys, I bought this truck in January and noticed some noise coming from the back like something was loose or rattling. I got underneath and did not see anything loose or dangling. I did notice an extreme amount of rust, the cross members are practically gone in the middle, the bed itself has rust holes in it, the frame itself seems okay. I did not see hardly any rust on it. But lately the noise seems to be getting worse, like if I drive slowly over bumps and uneven roads or alleys it makes some loud noises like squeaks and pops and bangs. It kind of concerns me and I have checked everything I could like, the axles and the shocks look old. So I did not know if they could be contributing to the noise. The leaf springs look okay with barely any rust. I am planning on trying to remove the truck bed and putting in new cross-members, and maybe replacing the shocks. What do you guys think? Could this just be noise from the rust or should I take action immediately? Thanks!
Monday, February 26th, 2018 AT 11:12 AM

3 Replies

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,382 POSTS
You are probably hearing the various rusted parts pop and grind as they move around. The rotted cross-members are usually where they run the box mounts so the rust is allowing the box to twist and bounce because it is not secure. You may also want to look close at the frame. If someone cleaned it and sprayed on some undercoating it could have problems you do not see. Take a small ball peen hammer and use the ball end and tap it all over the frame, if it dents or worse goes through, you have a bad rust problem.
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Monday, February 26th, 2018 AT 12:08 PM
Tiny
TMCINTOSH11
  • MEMBER
  • 176 POSTS
Thanks, thats what I was thinking the noise was but I wanted to be sure not to miss anything, I'm gonna do what you said to do with the frame, the frame doesn't look like it's been coated but I want to make sure. The crossmembers are completely rotted away in the middle and when you step in the middle of the bed it feels like it's gonna go through, thats going to be a fun project, thanks for your help!
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Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 AT 4:10 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,382 POSTS
If the box has rust through the floor at all I would probably make new cross members out of square tube steel. Set them nice and level front-rear and side-side. Then put a nice oak floor in it. Go old school. Attach the bed sides and wheel houses to the wood with steel from underneath so it looks like the sides are floating on the wood. You could even get a bed iron kit like they used on the older trucks to have rub rails to protect the wood.
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Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 AT 9:31 PM

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