Possibly U Joints
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From: Phoenix
Possibly U Joints
Recently when I leave my driveway which only has a slight grade to it my truck makes a clunking sound when I hit the gutter and while turning slightly. Also my front drive line from transfer case to front axle has some play in it. I can rotate the front drive line about 3/4" to an 1" while parked in the driveway. Since u joints are only about $17 each I figured this would be a good starting point. Any ideas? 2005 XLT 4x4 5.4L F150. Thanks.
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By your description it sounds more like tie rod ends or maybe even a ball joint. I'd get it up on a hoist and check first. a little play in the drive shaft is normal, especially when your not in 4 wheel drive. If you can get movement from the actual ujoint between the 2 connecting points then I'd change them too. Batttman
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From: Phoenix
Yeah it wasn't my u joints but I replaced the factory ones with new grease able ones. Original u joints were kind of dry. I'm also thinking it might be my cv axles. I am going to raise front end check that next.
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From: Phoenix
Did you put everything back the way you took it off? I marked my axles with nail polish to make sure I placed them back exactly as I took them off. The drive lines come balanced from the factory so I just wanted to make sure I didn't cause any other problems. If this isn't necessary then its news to me and good for future reference.
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From: Phoenix
I noticed what I thought looked like small balancing weights welded to the drive line so that was my reason for putting them back the same way.
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From: Henrico, VA
I don't personally mess around with my drive shafts and things like that but that is because I just have the knowledge or experience to go with it. But in ever show I watch (extreme 4x4, Gears, Trucks, TruckU) they always mark and line everything back up when rebuilding.
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U-joints and driveshaft
Your right. The drive shafts are balanced and do have weights on them. It's always necessary to put them back together in the same alignment as you took them off. Mark the shaft and the nuckle with something that won't easily come off while working on it. Then just line those up when putting it back together. Nail polish is a good idea.
Battman
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