Driving home tonight and heard and intermittent "chug chug chug" noise from the front end. Seemed to start after hitting a bump, then once I stop the truck, it goes away until the next bump.

2005 F350 fx4 CCLB 6.0
Brakes were just replaced, one warped rotor and new calipers. I checked each tire and no signs of rubbing, no excess heat, no pulsing in the brakes or while stopping. Just had all new Moog problem solver ball joints, tie rods, and drag link installed less than a month ago. U-Joints are good, Spicer brand.
No loose parts, nothing with any play, no signs of wear anywhere that I could see, and the truck doesn't seem to drive or handle any differently. No jerking, wobbling or pulling that I could tell. Any ideas, or experience with similar situations?

Here is a video:
http://youtu.be/eTz3frT72hY

Also, I have four new Bilstein 5100 shocks on the way since mine are pretty well toast, if that would make a difference. The truck definitely has a lot of bounce over bumps, almost floaty. And you can easily push down on the front tow hooks and watch the front end just bounce up and down a few times.
Thanks!

 

Possible bearing gone bad? I locked the hubs last night and it doesn't seem to be making any more noise. I noticed the passenger hub had a fair bit of resistance right before it reached the full lock.

 

Ok, so I have done some more inspecting. The passenger u-joint is completely shot. It has fallen apart and is likely the source of the noise. The part that connects the inner axle just slips out. So my question is, could that have caused any damage to the other end of the shaft where it goes into the differential? I really don't want to have to replace the axle.

I'll have to replace the manual hubs as well, as the passenger side is binding and doesn't seem to disengage from the axle. I've been wanting to upgrade to Warn's new premium hubs for the Dana 60, so I guess this is a good enough excuse.

 

When you replace the ujoint you'll be able to inspect the shaft splines at that time cuz you need to pull the shaft out to replace the ujoint. Look at the seal down inside the tube by the differential too. Thats a fun one to R&R.

 

Hey, thanks! So once you remove the unit bearing, the axle should just pull right out, correct?

Is there a part number for the seals? I'm not too sure what all I need.

Hopefully everything comes apart easily, and fingers crossed that I won't need to replace the unit bearings. I don't want to spend another $300 if I don't have to.

 

Yes the shafts float so once you get the bearing/hub asm removed the stub shaft the ujoint and main shaft into the pumpkin pulls out. Careful to not drag the main shaft on the seal as it may be ok(on the way out and way back in). Try youtube for some visuals or get a repair manual. Im not sure if someone has a DIY vid here? The stealership will have the part numbers. Have your VIN handy. Then you can either get Ford parts(recommended) or get your parts where ever your comfortable(non chinese is a good start). Spicer u joints are the best. So is the Spicer grease. Google Spicer.
Inspect the ball joints and steering and other chassis components while your under it. Nows the time to do it while its apart.
Use antiseize on everything when reassembling.

 

Thanks! Tie rods and ball joints are all about a month old. The shop I had it at, which was recommended by someone here, said the U-joints were still good. Now the passenger side is bad.


The manual hub was pretty bound up and wouldn't disengage from the axle, even when unlocked. I'm worried that all that excessive play may have damaged the gearing inside the differential.
When I put both sides up, I locked both hubs in. Turning the passenger wheel, everything moves correctly and rotates the driveshaft. Unlock the driver hub and the wheel disengages and rotates without spinning the axle. But with the driver side unlocked, passenger side locked, the passenger axle rotates, but not the driveshaft. When I switch the hub to free, the axle still rotates, but the driveshaft does not. Does that sound normal?

I assume that when either axle spins, it will spin the drive shaft. But I may not be totally understanding how the open diff works.

Also, is it possible to grease the unit bearings? Right now they rotate fine and don't make noise, and I'd like to keep them like that as long as possible.

 

Oh, and I bought spicer u joints from rock auto and Warn's new premium hubs for 2005 and up.

And if there does end up being damage to the differential, I'll just have an excuse to put in a Detroit Locker

 

That to me looks like the yoke is shot on the main shaft. Looks like the cup hole may be hogged out. That ujoint cup is pressed in, not C clipped as I dont see C clips. If the new ujoint cup falls into the shaft yoke, you need to replace the shaft. Unless you get lucky and the cup itself is not in spec...too small?? Thats is an oddball failure.
Take a vid of the bad cup, you rotate it out of sight in this vid.
Grab the ujoint or the shaft and prevent it from spinning then try to rotate the wheel to see if it is unlocked. You may just be seeing freewheel friction spinning the shaft or the hubs tight and needs to be replaced or cleaned and re-greased?

 

That is weird, I hope the shaft doesn't need replaced. I'll try to get a video uploaded tonight though. I already have everything pretty much apart. I'm just trying to find a set of snap ring pliers that are long enough, and strong enough to remove the snap ring around the axle.

I did check once I had the wheel off, with the hub unlocked, the axle still spun, but as soon as I pulled the hub out entirely, no more rotation. Thanks for all your help so far!

 

I'm stuck. I can't get the stupid snap ring off the axle to pull the bearing off and get the axle out. I have a pair of snap ring pliers that are long enough, but I can't get enough movement on the ring to get it free of the axle. It slips off the pliers before. Is there a tool or something I can use that works? Or maybe pull the bearing and axle out as one piece?

 

Here is that closeup of the cap that is falling out.

 

Ok, I got everything on the passenger side apart. I ended up driving to the ford dealership to ask the tech which pliers he uses, and he ended up just letting me borrow his pair for the weekend. So here is what I have so far.


I'm not sure how exactly to replace that seal


It looks like the cap that is falling out was missing the c-clip, which the others have.


And here's the other end. Splines are all in good shape.

 

OK you may get lucky with that ujoint. They do have c clips. Looks like that cup simply lost its clip, which is kind of unusual IMO. I havent had either of my 250s apart up front...yet... thats why I wasnt sure. See if the new cup fits snugly into the yoke. And by snug I mean press fit not simply pushed in by hand. If not you will still need to do something. They cant be lose at all. If you have a Fleet Pride or drive shaft/line shop around you take it in and have them look. Its cheap for them to install the joint, $50ish. The axle splines look fine. How long do you think that cup was lose? If its a short period you may be ok. There are some tricks that could make the repair successful. But see how the new cup fits.

 

I could probably measure the yoke with a pair of calipers too, then compare. I really hope it doesn't require an axle replacement haha. I'm not sure of any drive line shops around here. I'm sure there is one, but probably not open on a Sunday. The other c clips were really corroded, so maybe that one just broke off and it worked itself out. It hasn't been long since it fell out. Last weekend on Friday, but I couldn't find the source. Discovered it on Sunday when I went to replace the front shocks, and it has sat in my driveway since.

Thanks for all your help so far, reps are coming your way!