Hey guys, its snowing today in Ma and on my way to work from school my truck was in 4x4 and would squeal all the time on and off. Here is the situaton today, this has happened prior but i just didn't post on here until it lasted for 30 miles on the highway.

4x4 system:
-MM hubs
-all stock minus the hubs
-Pass side vac hose melted against tire (doesn't matter with the MM hubs but too much info is not a bad thing)
-Replaced u-joints in November
-the screeching when not engaged predates the MM hubs that i installed, it occurred when i had my auto hubs locked last year because they would not disengage

Trip:
-average of 45mph
-30 miles from NH to MA (route 3 if anyone is interested)
-truck was operating up to temp

When it occurs:
-Under Acceleration
-15-45 mph
- when going from stop-30 it makes a hollow tapping noise instead of the screech
- when hubs are locked and t-case is NOT engaged it screeches for about 1 miles and then stops

Sound in the video occurs within the first 8 seconds, its faint in he video but very loud in person.


Highway didn't look that bad in the video but i was in a plowed sctretch other than that the last 25 miles were through about an inch of snow and slush.

 

I just switched to my old esof hubs and the metal screech wasnt as bad and stopped from 15-30mph now. I do get a squeak from 0-15 though and then a screeching again from 30-45. I took a video but you can barely hear the 0-15 squeak and it stopped the screeching from 30-45 so im assuming its a hub issue. I will upload the video tonight.

EDIT: Forgot to add that I isolated it to the drivers side wheel.

 

Check the condition of your U joints and Wheel bearings. Dry U joints on the front drive-shafts are common. My Excursion made a very loud squeak when in 4x4 and I had WARN hubs in mine. I had the driveshaft re-built and all the issues went away.

My plow truck is much much worse and makes the noise you are describing. In 2wd hubs unlocked do you feel any resistance while turning hard one direction? After 14 years of plowing my old 96 is in need of attention this spring/summer.

 

Thanks for replying, the front ujoints are new but the drive shaft ujoints have never been replaced or greased to my knowledge. I have no resistance in 2wd, also the balljoints are new I basically repkaced my front end in November except for brakes and tie rods.

 

When I lock my hubs on my 96 in 2wd I have a series of pops, bangs and squeaks coming from the drivers side. Yours sounds like the drive-shaft U-joints. They are not grease-able from the factory. My Excursions went bad where it bolts to the T-case in the double knuckle joint. IIRC I paid 285.00 for a driveline shop to re-build mine with OEM spicer joints.

 

I'm starting to think it's the driveshadt as well. When the hubs are locked in 2wd I get the same screeching but no as bad or as often. Is it reasonsble to just buy a new drive shaft? Unless its easy to grease and get the parts ill do it myself.

On jeffs bronco graveyard a new shaft is $245ish

 

Its easy to do yourself but the double knuckle joints are tricky, at least for me. Well prices in Chicago seem to be 2x what everyone else pays. I would check with a few shops in your area. Sometimes its easier to just get a whole new shaft. Mine lasted 289,000 miles!

 

I'll have to check around i guess, is there a way to tell for sure that its the drive shaft? on jeffs bronco graveyard it looks like he has everything i would need, hopefully the ujoints have grease zerks.

 

There is really no easy way to get to the zerks on double knuckle joints if you have a skid plate. It can be a pain to remove to grease the joints. You can securely and safely jack up the truck getting both front wheels off the round in 2wd and you should be able to rotate the shaft by hand leaving the hubs unlocked. You can just manually lock the hubs to spin it all at once and listen for squeaks.

 

Thanks! i'll have to try it tomorrow morning once it stops snowing out. I may still get greasable ujoints even if i have to remove the drive shaft every once in a while. Only if it will extend the life of it though.

 

There are many many threads about grease-able vs non, The off road shop that did mine rarely installs grease-able ones in the SD trucks. They just install OEM joints and they usually last a long time even in salt and winters. Mine lasted almost 290,000 miles, but its what you feel more comfortable with. Keep us posted!

 

I would think that the grease-able ones would be weaker since they will be hollowed out a bit, but that's just my thought

 

Will do! I installed greasable ones in my wheels but I also feel like if you keep everything moving every once in a while they will stay lubed enough to last a while. We'll see though I gotta find the source first.

 

Quick question, how do I know what series drive shaft I have? Theres a bunch of options like 1350, 1410 and 1480 series.