Tie Rod or Ball Joint?

[Devious02]

I got my truck with Keys in the front and drop shocks for about 2 years. I noticed the other day that there is a popping noise coming from the front of my truck. I could just be driving in a parking lot and the noise is heard like clicking popping noise. How do I check to see what it is I never changed a tie rod or ball joint before. Thanks!

 

[Dynamo]

My Tahoe was making a popping sound from what I thought was the front suspension. I had the dealer take a look at it and after a lot of diagnosing including me riding with one of their senior techs to demonstrate the sound it ended up being the running boards. When the tech was riding with me he said he could tell from the sound that it wasn't the suspension even though my untrained ear could swear it was. They removed the running boards and the popping sound went away. They put them back on because I wanted them on and the noise has been gone since so I'm thinking that removing them and putting them back on reset whatever was popping. Anyway, just something you might want to check out before you start swapping parts out.

 

[Modded]

My Tahoe was making a popping sound from what I thought was the front suspension. I had the dealer take a look at it and after a lot of diagnosing including me riding with one of their senior techs to demonstrate the sound it ended up being the running boards. When the tech was riding with me he said he could tell from the sound that it wasn't the suspension even though my untrained ear could swear it was. They removed the running boards and the popping sound went away. They put them back on because I wanted them on and the noise has been gone since so I'm thinking that removing them and putting them back on reset whatever was popping. Anyway, just something you might want to check out before you start swapping parts out.

The bolts were probably just loose and got re-tightned when they re-installed.
As for the above popping sound.....I say you get someone to stand on your running boards and hold onto the roof rack while rocking their body around to simulate suspension compression/decompression. Then you can inspect around the truck and find the source. I have done this before and it works well.

 

[DELIVERANCE]

To check the tie rods jack the truck up until the wheel is off the ground, try and move the wheel to the front and back. If there is excessive play it should be the tie rods, if you see the outer moving then that is the culprit. If the outer is not moving it will be the inner. If you rock the wheel up and down and have play, then it should be the ball joints. I have a bad tie rod that makes noise when I drive and this is what I did to diagnose it.

 

[BlueTahoe2001]

Check the wheel-bearing hub. They are famous for making this noise, and 2 weeks later your on the side of the road with a bad hub. Just go through and begin to check all the suspension parts for wear and replace as needed. I have recently done this, and I replaced all my Ball Joints, Tie-Rod's (Inner and Outer), Idler Arm, Pitman Arm, and bushings (Replaced with HD Poly bushings).

Front suspension and steering was way tighter and had 10x's better handling then before. Well worth the time and money.

 

[Devious02]

Thanks for the info I got under ther truck and found that it was comming from the back drop shock bolt was not tight thus letting the shock move pop and squeak. I could have sworn it was comming from my front.