2003 Ford F-150 FX-4 (4X4) Clicking noise from front drivers wheel

Hi!



I recently bought a used F-150 with 105,000 miles on it. Most of the time (not all) when I slow down do about 15 mph or less, I start to hear a clicking noise coming from what appears to be the front drivers side wheel area. The clicking is fairly loud, and decreases in frequency as I slow down and completely stops when I come to a stop. It does NOT click when going above, maybe, 15-20 mph and also does not make the noise when accellerating - ONLY when stopping…



I put it up on a jack last weekend and nothing is obviously out of the ordinary - the fender is not rubbing the wheel or something like that. The brakes are in fair shape - new pads could be used, but the rotors are fine. Could it be related to a worn pad?



It sounds like it could be from the front axle area (not sure of the name) where the wheel attaches to the axle (a differential maybe - or transfer case? Not really sure what that thing is called)



Thanks for your thoughts! It isn’t a big deal, but everyone looks at me funny when I slow down!

It sounds like you need new front brake pads. Clicking when stopping is fairly common when the pads are worn. You should have the front end checked out by a mechanic just to be sure.

Really? I thought there was a wire built into the pads that would ‘squeal’, not click… I’ll take a closer look at the pads this weekend - thanks for your input

There is a wear indicator, but brake pads don’t just fail from normal, even wear, either. My 1998 Camry had a front brake pad crack in half before it was truly worn… that made an awful racket that wasn’t anything like a squeal.

Thanks for confirming - I will certainly give them a check before I dig into anything else.
Thanks ALL! I’ll update this with my findings…