EDITED: Dragging metal sound; rattle & squeak

[HammaMan]

Sounds like something in the brakes to me.

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[Blue22]

I agree and I sort of feel that way sometimes with the deep sleep mode I get occasionally. I think to myself what if the truck won't start because I have a bad battery. I keep it on a trickle charger but I get frustrated sometimes having to do it since I didn't buy a Lightning.

 

[Towking]

Mine makes a similar noise from the rear. Dealer said it’s the brakes and that is just the way it is and offered no help. Just goes to show buying new is not the easy way out. Now I have to pull brakes on a truck with 18k. Love it, sold a 1995 f350 for this and still have work on it myself.

 

[RossRR]

I took off the passenger side rear center cap and saw this. Is it ok? Couldn’t get the driver side off.

Yours is not the problem axle configuration:

 

[fordtruckman2003]

I took off the passenger side rear center cap and saw this. Is it ok? Couldn’t get the driver side off.

Looks like typical surface rust to me.
You'll need to pull wheels off all around and check for anything rubbing.
If you are not used to working on your own vehicles it might seem scary but not a big deal to pull off a while and just visually look at everything. Torque wrench is useful for getting lug nuts tightened to spec.

As mentioned the brake shield/shroud might be bent. It can happen from road debris. You could also have some brake issues with pads.

A good visual look should reveal what is scraping. It does sound like it is with rotation. Whatever is rubbing with you continuing to drive it should show marks of fresh metal. Check the drive shaft too for anything close to it.

Good video clip too for sharing with the dealer. I had to do that for the famous Ecoboost timing rattle on last truck.

 

[RickBullotta]

I agree and I sort of feel that way sometimes with the deep sleep mode I get occasionally. I think to myself what if the truck won't start because I have a bad battery. I keep it on a trickle charger but I get frustrated sometimes having to do it since I didn't buy a Lightning.

Replace the OEM battery with a quality aftermarket battery (Duralast Platinum, for example) and your deep sleep issues will likely go away. That worked for many of us.

 

[Blue22]

Replace the OEM battery with a quality aftermarket battery (Duralast Platinum, for example) and your deep sleep issues will likely go away. That worked for many of us.

Maybe I'm stubborn, or just cheap, but I don't think I should have to buy a new battery for a truck that is only a year and a half old with 3,700 miles on it. I've taken it to the dealer twice to have them look at it and each time they tell me it's fine. For now I've been dealing with it but it's the one gripe I have with a truck I otherwise love.

 

[RickBullotta]

Maybe I'm stubborn, or just cheap, but I don't think I should have to buy a new battery for a truck that is only a year and a half old with 3,700 miles on it. I've taken it to the dealer twice to have them look at it and each time they tell me it's fine. For now I've been dealing with it but it's the one gripe I have with a truck I otherwise love.

yup. I get it. I can only say that or solved the problem for quite a few of us whose battery also tested “ok”. For me it was less time, cost and frustration just to swap it myself.

 

[skiteton]

UPDATE: I can rule out a broken axle bolt. Glad to know that's not the case.

In the meantime, are there certain areas of the underbody I can inspect to see what's causing the squeak when I hit bumps? It's metal on metal and sounds like it bounds and rebounds with the road undulations. It's audible at very slow speed and minor bumps. For instance, rolling through a gravel lot makes it squeak. Rolling through a paved lot makes it squeak. It's very sensitive.

I've kicked the tires, jumped on the running boards, and generally banged around on anything that wouldn't cut me underneath the truck and I've not been able to pinpoint the source.

Truck is still scheduled for a dealer visit in 2 weeks, but I'd be happy to temporarily fix the squeak, if possible.

I could sneak up on people in parking lots before this started.

 

[JExpedition07]

My first thought is IWE, but I believe only 2021 Lariats have IWE’s. Do you happen to have the snow plow prep package? I know that puts a Lariat to the ESOF and IWE system instead of the TOD system.

 

[Jrohner78]

UPDATE: I can rule out a broken axle bolt. Glad to know that's not the case.

In the meantime, are there certain areas of the underbody I can inspect to see what's causing the squeak when I hit bumps? It's metal on metal and sounds like it bounds and rebounds with the road undulations. It's audible at very slow speed and minor bumps. For instance, rolling through a gravel lot makes it squeak. Rolling through a paved lot makes it squeak. It's very sensitive.

I've kicked the tires, jumped on the running boards, and generally banged around on anything that wouldn't cut me underneath the truck and I've not been able to pinpoint the source.

Truck is still scheduled for a dealer visit in 2 weeks, but I'd be happy to temporarily fix the squeak, if possible.

I could sneak up on people in parking lots before this started.

Did you ever get to the bottom of this??

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