I have a rattle in the driver side front end. The only thing I can find that seems loose is the pitman arm- does that make sense? I hear it going over small to moderate bumps in the roads. Any other suggestions? Thanks

 

bailman,

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If you have some serious miles on your truck it could be the steering shaft itself. As for the pitman arm I'm not so sure. I don't think I've ever replaced my pitman arm in almost 200K miles. Now, the factory steering gears do have some noticeable sector shaft play even when rolled right off the assembly line and there is a very nice steering stabilizer available in the market to help tighten things up a bit.

 

Check drivers side axle joint too .......... already been there.

 

I have replaced the upper/lower ball joints on both sides, axle and u joints front and rear, new drive shaft, brakes and rotors. Keep in mind the truck has only 72000 miles. This is very discouraging. When I get under the truck and try to pull on things to make the rattle, the only place I get a rattle is at the pitman arm. This truck is beginning to make me think I made a bad decision during the buying process.

 

My 03 truck has done the same thing since new and i haven't figured it out either.Dealer replaced the intermediate [SP] steering shaft,but problem still there.Mine also has up and down play in pitman arm.Hope somebody figures this out before my warrenty is out.

 

I'm bringing this thread back to life.

I have the same problem described in the first post. I have a rattle on the drivers side that only occurs when I hit a bump or driving slowly on rough roads. I have checked everything underneath and the only thing I can find is play in the shaft that the pitman arm attaches to. The rod ends have no play. There is nothing at the wheel.

Is the shaft that the pitman arm attaches to supposed to have play in it?

The steering box is leaking fluid from the top. I have read numerous threads about this, but none mention rattles or play in the pitman arm.

Any help would be appreciated as this will not be covered under warranty...too many miles.

Thanks in advance.

 

I had the same noise and it turned out be the left sway bar link. If you turn the wheel to left lock and put a pry bar in you will probably find that there is a loose ball socket. It is an easy fix you can do it with the wheel on the ground turned to the left.

I looked for about 2 months before I found it it is a dealer only part I think I paid $80.00 but it was worth the silence

 

That is mildly hilarious. I was outside working on it and I just figured that out. I came in to look online for swaybar end links and saw your post!

The shaft the pitman arm was attached to was loose so I adjusted that and took it for a test drive and the noise was still there.

I then checked the sway bar end links for play and the driver's side had a cut in the seal and was very loose. I filled it with grease and I will order a new one Monday.

Thanks for the quick response. On the plus side, the steering is more responsive...

 

This may sound unlikely, but what my rattle turned out to be was a loose lower shock bolt Left (Drivers) side. The rattle sounded like a metal washer dangeling loosely on a bolt every time I hit even a small bump in the road.

 

I never did get mine fixed while still in warranty.I think they changed everything except the steering gear box and i really think that is the problem.

Let us know if the end links fixes yours Thanks

 

I just had my 06 in for a noise in the passenger front end. The noise would only be there when I would go over bumps. It turned out to be the body mount bolt on the front passengers side. It was loose, so the shop tightened up all the mounting bolts and the noise is gone. This is something that is not really visable, I would have never found it.

 

I replaced the drivers side way bar end link. Everything is now tight and quiet. My truck is out of warranty, other than the motor, so I am gald we got this figured out.