Was out yesterday with a pretty good load on the tongue, probably about 1100 pounds of tongue weight towing about 6000 lbs. No air in the air bags, so the back was squatting a little. When driving slowly (10 mph) in a straight line and only turning left, I would intermittently hear a strange crunch/pop come from the front left wheel area when hitting bumps/ruts (had 12 inches of snow and the city refuses to plow). It did it about 5 times. It would happen in 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive. Unhooked the trailer, went back to same exact road, drove exactly the same speed and hit same bumps and absolutely no noise (tried it fast too without success). Tried in 2wd and 4wd. I checked under the truck, there was some ice buildup around the bottom of the transfer case, but the front end seems clear of snow. I was thinking maybe the sway bar could be making that sound since it only did it while loaded? This is the first time I've heard that noise and its only since we had the snow fall. The drivers side u-joint was replaced about 4 thousand miles ago. It was about -20 when this was happening. Any suggestions, truck has about 65,000 miles on her.

 

Hmmm... 45 views and no comments? Had it out today at the motorbike ice track and no noises, but only about 400 lbs in the bed. Could it be the sway bar? It was -24 out there today... Anyone???

 

If U joints are good, then my next guess would be king pins. It could have been as simple as the pins froze up on that side and the bump freed them up. On my semi, that is what reminds me to grease them. When greasing make sure you jack the truck up to release the tension on the bottom pin before greasing. Not sure about the swaybar thing.