A quick question from a newbie - the other night I shifted into 4wd (manually with manula hubs) the truck runs great but there is a pronounced gear noise from the driveline when in 4wd and especially when I left off the gas and coast - almost sounds like straight cut gears. My buddy says thats normal when in 4wd - is that true?

Stupid question to 95% of you I'm sure but with 8k miles left on my warranty I want to be sure

Thanks

 

Are you on hardball or off-road? I usually put mine in 4x4 once a week to keep everything moving around and to prevent certain parts from having problems. I did it once on the road and I had the same noise, so I would think it's something normal. One of the more experienced cats will prolly hop on here as well and give a better answer.

basstardo

2002 F-250 Lariat, 7.3L PSD, 6 Spd Manual, 4x4 Off Road Package, Line-X Liner, grille gaurd, soft tonneau, altezza tail lights (adds at least 15HP ), more to come...

 

Mine's still new and it does that too. I think every 4-wheeler I've had and driven has that same distinct drivetrain noise when in 4wd

 

I don't really like answering questions like this because they are so subjective. One person's loud gear sound is something the next guy doesn't even notice. I usually assume that if it's loud enough that you'll bother to post it here that's there's a problem. In this case though, as the others have already said, I think it is most likely just common driveline noise that all 4X4's produce.

Now that I've said that your front axle will probably fall off next time you engage 4X4.

Waxy

 

>but there is a pronounced gear noise from the driveline when
>in 4wd and especially when I left off the gas and coast -
>almost sounds like straight cut gears.

I have a bit of front axle noise during deacceleration.It isn't load at all,but I do hear it when I listen for it with everything locked in.
FWIW,It has lessened a bit with miles,(I had the hubs locked for the last three weeks).

IMO,pretty much normal if it isn't overly noisy.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 09-Jan-03 AT 06:58 PM (EST)]I had that same question and brought it to a dealers attention because my previous 1990 F-150 didn't make such noticeable noise to speak of. I found it odd also that the sound was tied to letting off the accelerator. I would say that there was a split second of hesitation before the noise was able to be heard after letting off.

Anyway I ended up dealing with the service manager for this dealership. He's been around a long time and this dealership does a lot of work for commercial fleet trucks so I figure he knows what he's doing. He test drives the truck and tells me that the noise is quite substantial and that it is not normal.

I drop the truck off and they end up keeping it for 30 days. I'd phone every couple days to see if they found the problem and I was given a rundown of what they attempted. They tried replacing wheel bearings, checked the front and rear diff., the driveshafts, transfer case, you name it they tried it. They talked to Ford engineers who suggested all kinds of things to no avail. The service manager finally calls me to tell me the noise is normal and that it can be reproduced in all of the super duties. There is just a varying degree of noise on each truck. That was the official Ford answer. He said he personally didn't believe it until he tested several trucks on their lot and they all did it.

We don't have lemon laws here in Canada so I had to pursue Ford about getting a new truck as this was the straw that broke the camels back. I had other problems with ESOF and a transfer case that would slip into neutral once in a while, allowing my truck to roll away.

They took back my '99 and I ended up with a new 2002 F-350 XLT CC LB Its been a year and so far no problems but it still does make noise like you said. Must be normal.

 

Thanks Everyone - yea you too waxy! I'll keep an eye on that front axle LOL