After buying my '00 Expdy a few weeks ago I had the fluids changed including the rear diff. I supplied 3 qts of the 74/140 synthtic and the 4oz friction modifier I bought from the local dealer to the shop who did the work. They had to add about another 1/2 qt which they said they used 75w/140 synthetic as they said the 3 qts plus modifier was not quite enough.
Since then I have noticed on a couple of occassions a rear end clunk. One time I came to a stop from a parking lot at a light and I was on an incline. The light turned green and the truck wouldn't move. I gave it some more gas and could heard a loud clunk but all seemed good. Could not tell if it came from the rear end of just the rear brakes locked up. It has made noise a couple of other times but never did it react like it was not in gear and not willing to move from a stop. Could changing the fluid with 175k on the ticker been a bad thing? If the shop used 1/2 qt of non- synthetic just to get it full could that cause an issue? I know a clunk is hard to diagnose but maybe someone else has had similar symptoms. Today it sounded like my front hub was making noise but when I rolled down the window when leaving a parking lot it appeared to be coming from the rear end again. Thanks
What is best way to determine if it is bad? Get under truck and shake the rear drive shaft and see if it has play? thanks
Yes, but block the wheels, set the parking brake, and shift it into neutral. If you're not in neutral, the stress on the drive shaft will prevent you from being able to move it around even if there is play in it.
Have you checked your tranny fluid level lately?
How old are the rear brakes?
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Yes, but block the wheels, set the parking brake, and shift it into neutral. If you're not in neutral, the stress on the drive shaft will prevent you from being able to move it around even if there is play in it.
Have you checked your tranny fluid level lately?
How old are the rear brakes?
Tranny fluid is fine. Rear brakes are brand new. I called the shop I normally use as they were too busy a few weeks ago to get my fluids changed and I needed to get it done before my trip. told him about the truck not wanting to move when I came to a red light and when the light turned green the truck just sat there until I gave it more gas. He said it more than likely is a caliper in the rear sticking which is what I thought it was as well. I will check the u-joint tonight as I did notice a little vibration at 65 mph yesterday. Thanks for the tips.
Crawled under the truck tonight. Did not really notice much play in the rear drive shaft. Looked over at the driver rear wheel and noticed shavings/particiles laying on the lip of the wheel. A lot more black soot compared to other wheels and the other wheels did not have any particles laying on the wheel. I bet the mechanics assumption of a frozen caliper is spot on. My question is the truck drives and brakes fine. This probably explains the loud clunk when I gave it enough gas to move and it freed up as well as the noise I heard yesterday that sounded like grinding from the rear. I need to go get my pop up from the dealer tomorrow. About 1 1/2 round trip. Is it safe? I can't get the truck to the shop until Thursday.
Lastly assuming the caliper is not working right and needs replaced what should I expect the mechanic to do. For example, will the recommend new pads(one or both sides), new rotors(one or both sides), obviously a new caliper. I looked at service records from previous owner and he had new pads and rotors turned(possibly turned but can not quite verify) in the rear 3k miles ago. Front had new rotors and pads put on. I don't want to do a complete rear brake job but not sure what they will say and I hate to just agree and get taken for doing the passenger side when I don't need to. Thanks
It's a given that the caliper needs to be replaced. As far as anything else, it depends on whether or not there is any heat damage due to the stuck caliper. That's going to be the mechanic's call when he take it apart and lays eye on it. When it comes to brakes, it's wise to replace the same items on both sides at the same time, to keep the braking even.
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Dropped the Exp off at my mechanic today. Got a call later that it wound up being the parking brake shoe had come loose and gotten lodged/wedged. Replaced the emergency brake shoes and adjusted brake and made sure everything was good to go. So $136 later I am a happy camper and was dreading this could have been much worse. Thanks for the help.
This experience sounds very familiar. I often get to analyzing what the worst case can be often to find out I was way off. I should add that sometimes being off is good and sometimes it's real bad.
The end result sounds great, simple cheap repair and you're a happy camper. Thanks for keeping us up to date.
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