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I wouldn't go out and buy any special grease if you already have some sort of lithium grease that should be good enough. Get a needle nose adapter for a grease gun and pump it into the splines.
I have the same 2023 truck. Mine has done this since new as well. If you don't mind, please post back what grease you use and how/where to grease at. Thanks
I am going to give this a go here shortly and these are the greases I already have on hand. I realize that the proper grease would be the Motorcraft XG-8 posted by ssls6 but I am anxious to find out if this is going to help my issue. I am leaning toward the Molykote since it has a molybdenum additive which would hopefully extend the interval at which I would have to reapply. Another option would be Super Lube Synthetic Grease I could get today from Harbor Freight which has a PTFE additive and might be closer to the Motorcraft PTFE Lubricant. I could always change it up in the future if this even works but cleaning the splines of any residual grease in the transfer case might be an issue of its own. Maybe I'm over thinking this and just need to get under the truck and get to work.
Honestly any moly grease is ok. I've said it before something is better than nothing. Now if your going to use Crisco from the kitchen it might not last long.
Just mark the shaft to axle so it goes back to the same location.
He used a “kit” that contains the correct grease and a new clamp.
I think I will just get the kit, hopefully the clamp will fit the F350 driveshaft as that’s the main reason I will go with this kit over just getting the grease.
So I dropped the driveshaft and the splines inside the yoke were certainly not dry but I cleaned the area and applied a few gobs of the Molykote grease and evenly spread it around about 2/3 the depth of the splines. I then barely wet the outside of the yoke with the grease and reinstalled. I wiped everything clean as I was disassembling and once again after reassembly. The grease I cleaned out of the yoke where it had clumped up towards the inside from the factory was green in color. I backed out of the drive which was my first trip for the day and got the usual clunk as I was releasing the brake pedal in drive after shifting from reverse and another similar clunk maybe 1/2 wheel rotation in the forward direction, so no change whatsoever. It is nice to rule out one possibility and it is actually comforting knowing I am not the only one experiencing this with this model truck. Just to add, I always let my truck idle down before driving and I come to a complete stop in reverse before gradually shifting to neutral then drive. There is never a shock on the driveline. I guess I will keep trying to figure this out. Thanks for all of the suggestions so far and please keep them coming!
Thanks for the feedback. I think it's at least possible like one other commenter mentioned above: the brake hold / or hill start assist, which seems to activate on even slight inclines. The worst clunk I ever noticed was when I had to stop on a slight incline, and go from Drive to Reverse to back up the incline. Doesn't really explain a flat surface though, unless the brakes always lock up slightly when switching between P, R, D etc. I've looked through all settings on the truck and I cannot find a way to turn this feature off. My Jeep allows you to turn this setting off
Hello, 2023 F350 SRW 7.3 10R140 with 2500 miles. This has been happening since almost day one. After backing out of the driveway or a parking spot and more prominently when truck is cold, I'm getting one or two mild "clunks" as I'm letting off of the brake and the truck begins to roll. They seem to be coming from forward of the cab. I have had the wheels off and checked for loose bolts on the calipers and various suspension links with no luck. Once the truck is up to temp sometimes it doesn't happen at all. Once rolling it runs and shifts smooth as butter and this seems to exclusively happen from reverse to drive. I am reluctant to take it back to the dealer because my last experience there was less than ideal. I just figured I would put it up here for y'alls ideas and recommendations. I have searched for similar symptoms but most were transmission related as it up and down shifts and I am having no issues there. This is happening within just a few feet of the truck beginning to roll and, unless it's just in my head, it seems like I can almost feel it in the brake pedal as I am releasing it. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Sounds very similar to how my transmission started out. Known issue with these trans. I felt like both Ford and the dealers try to deny it. But, Arron was the tech at the dealer and saw it through to the end. Eventually a new/rebuilt trans under warranty after several trips to the dealer.
Last edited by HotelFoMoCo; Nov 21, 2023 at 05:40 AM.
Reason: Spelling correction
He used a “kit” that contains the correct grease and a new clamp.
I think I will just get the kit, hopefully the clamp will fit the F350 driveshaft as that’s the main reason I will go with this kit over just getting the grease.
Just updating from my other post, I did this yesterday with the kit. The clamp is too small for the F350 drive shaft.
My truck had 62,000 miles on it. There was very little grease on the spline but what was there appeared to be in good shape and not dried up. Anyway, cleaned all the old stuff off and applied the while grease from the kit. The new stuff was on the thin side of what you would expect, will be interesting to see how it holds up. Reminded me of the white lubriplate grease if anyone is familar with that.
Is the stuff in the 3oz PTFE tube also kinda a thin grease?
I just put a zip tie on the the boot where the clamp was, I'll go looking for a Oetiker style clamp for next time. The OD of the rubber boot is 2.40" where the clamp goes.
Edit: forgot to mention, this did seem to clear up the clunk I had.
1/8 of an inch or so if measured where the yoke enters the differential case. I'm not sure what that would be in degrees. What is odd is that the noise(s) I am hearing don't happen until after I release the brake and they seem to be at or forward of the cab although I know that can be deceiving.
gear lash is only ~.010 on most any differential. it can hardely be felt unless you know what your feeling for. the the clunking when you twist the driveshaft back and forth is the metal parts in the trans or tcase
I went to the dealership that I purchased my truck from today to report the noise I am hearing. The truck was already warmed up by the time I got there of course but it did "clunk" once while the tech was in the cab. This was after backing out of a parking spot, shifting to drive, and beginning to roll forward. This is when it always makes the noise but I usually get two separate clunks about 1/2 to 1 second apart when the truck is cold or has been sitting for a while. He immediately stated that "the noise was coming from the vacuum hubs disengaging on take off".
That was taken directly from the ticket I asked for during the visit. I'm not sure how I feel about this diagnosis but at least I have documentation that the truck was there and that the tech did in fact hear the noise I am experiencing. Thoughts?
I took a short video of the noise I am hearing as it is happening. The clunk "feels" worse in person and sometimes it is louder than others. I believe the techs diagnosis from before is incorrect and the truck is back at the dealership now. You can hear the truck shift into drive and then the clunk as it begins to roll forward. Edit: I'm not sure I went about attaching the video correctly. I apologize if it is unable to be viewed.
