I've been noticing a slight rotational driveline noise on my 2018 157" wheelbase 3.5L Ecoboost 10-speed 4x4 3.55 gears and the electronic locking rear axle. I'm only hearing it moving slowly in a parking lot. There is no vibration or noise at higher speed. It almost sounds like it is coming from the rear universal joint or differential area, but it isn't consistent enough at this point to say for sure. Truck has 8000 miles on it to date with over 3000 of those being towing miles.

Is anyone else experiencing something similar?

 

I have the exact same truck, but it's a 2017.

I have not noticed anything that sounds out of the ordinary. I mean, there are certainly noises, but things make noises when they move. You should expect there to be some noises.

What kind of noise do you think it is that you hear, that you don't expect to hear? I read the universal joint/differential area comment...but do you mean one of those sounds like it is out of balance or something?
If you are uncomfortable, I'd highly recommend running it by the dealership since it's in warranty.

 

It can't be described as a squeak, it more of a slight grind that comes from that rear u-joint/diff area. I hadn't noticed it until now which is why I brought it up here. If I was guessing, I'd say it was a u-joint, but I can't be sure. Just wondering if it was something common with these trucks before I commit to bringing it to the dealer.

 

A grinding from the rear of a fairly new truck would have me checking the brake pads for dragging and also the possibility of a pebble that may have gotten stuck in a brake pad (we used to get that all the time on our ATV's). I've only had it happen once (as far as I remember) on a truck.

You could jack up one tire at a time and spin it by hand to quickly eliminate the brakes.

 

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'm definitely going to have it in to the dealer, but it probably will not be for a week or so with my dealer's scheduling. In the meantime I'll throw it up on my lift and see if I can find something obvious.

On a side note, the dealer just did the first "free" service (oil change and tire rotation) on the truck 2 weeks ago when they had it in for the seat belt pretensioner recall. It's interesting that I would start to notice it after they worked on it.

 

Can't believe it, but you were dead on accurate. Mud and debris up in the passenger side rear caliper. Found it as soon as I put it up on the lift.

I'll post a pic of the slight scoring on the rotor when I have a chance later today. Thanks for the idea on where to look. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it for myself.

I'm just hoping that this isn't a trend with this truck. Our boondocking spot is back several thousand feet of a dirt/gravel road and my trucks do see mud on occasion. It's an easy fix to clean it out. But, I just hope I don't have to do it every time it sees some mud.

 

Not a real good picture, but one slight groove near the middle.