2003 Freightliner xc chassis front end noise????

[revolution]

The shocks are very easy to change and I can vouch for the Monroes! I changed the the front ones only at this time to rule out the shocks as a possible contributor to the noise. The noise is still there, but the dampening is much better with the Monroes over the original Sachs which had 39k miles on them prior to be replaced!!!

[pine tree]

Go for the shocks. Have a reliable shop do the shock work and then see to it that all 29 lub points are serviced about every 2000 miles for the next 10,000 miles. You will see a WORLD of improvement and all the funny sounds will go away. Steering will become wonderful. Please note, the king pins cannot be properly lubed without jacking the front end of a Freightliner off the ground. Can't get enough grease in these puppies. Believe me!!!
Pine Tree

[B.Good]

If you have leaf springs which I'm sure you do at the ends of the springs are grease fittings which are the shackles at the rear and a grease pin at the front they make shackle shims for rear I would say you are getting side movement at rear shackles ends where it hooks to the frame hangers

[historyljc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by revolution . . . 4) I had the entire coach looked at about a year ago by C&S RV and that stated everything looks good and normal . . . Thanks again, Jack Martz

Jack RV dealers are generally not equipped or have the technical knowledge to work on chassis problems. As stated above, call Gaffney for advice and find a GOOD Freightliner service center.

[Chaffeekid]

Had the same issue with a 2000 Freightliner Class 8 that I owned and drove. It is the Spring hangers. There is a very small amount of movement in the springs, side to side that causes the pop noise.

I think there is a spring shackle pin that you can get that includes a grease fitting which helps to stop the noise.

But again, the noise is coming from the springs moving slightly and popping, cracking or what ever you call the noise

Hope this helps
Happy Trails
Jim

[Chaffeekid]

In addition to the spring shackle, you will need to check the S cam and roller assembly. If it is rusted it causes the S cam to stick, with continued harder pressure of the brakes it suddenly rotates and causes the loud pop sound.

To fix this, you will need to remove the front wheels, and drums. You then need to look at the S cam and rollers. When you apply the brakes, the S cams rotate against the rollers and cause the brake shoes to expand against the drums. When the S cams are sticking because of rust, they will cause the Popping noise from the left or right or both front wheels.

The torque of the lug nuts is about 450 ft lbs, takes a long breaker bar to loosen those nuts. The wheels and tires are very heavy and the drums are about 45 lbs apiece. Only tackle this if you can handle very heavy items. Also you will need to have the front of the RV jacked up to allow the removal of the tire/wheel assembly.

Happy trails
Jim

[revolution]

Thank you again for all the responses! I haven't taken the coach in yet, but all the data makes total sense to me!

I would think i could raise the front end with the levelling jacks then put some jack stands at a point somewhere to keep the front suspension hanging then lube the points everybody has mentioned!

Does anyone have an idea where would be a good point to do so?
Do you all think this is a bad idea?

Thanks again,

Happy sunday!

Jack

[Chaffeekid]

Hey Jack, make sure the jack stands are rated to support the load you are going to place on them, I would think 6 to 8 thousand pounds would do it.

Use some pieces of 2X10 lumber under your leveling jacks to help raise the MH to allow you to remove the wheels, only remove one at a time! Also make sure you have BOTH jack stands under the coach prior to removing wheels, you don't want to rely only on the leveling jacks.

You want to break the lug nuts loose while the wheels still have some weight on them, otherwise the wheel will just spin.

Look under the coach and determine where you can place the jack stands. You want it near the wheel and on a flat area where it will not slip off when weight is placed on it. Look for an area on the Axle or where the spring mount to the axle, should be a nice flat area. Make sure there is no nuts or bolts that the stand will be resting on as the weight could damage them.

Hope this helps
Happy Trails
Jim