On my 76 F150 6cyl manual 4x4 a few months ago at my buddies shop we replaced the front u-joints, ball joints, and all bearings at the wheels. It worked great when we tested it but over the past few snow storms it has developed a noise like a dry/bad u-joint (can't tell if its coming from the pass side or right at the transfercase). When we put the new joints in at the wheels the passenger side axel didn't hold the cups very tightly, not so loose that they had slop but loose enough that when pressing them in w/ the clamp from the ball joint tool they went in by just turning the press screw by hand. As remedy along w/ the clip on the cup he tack welded the caps to the axel.

All that said, I have looked at the u-joints in the front driveshaft and though they do have some (very little) slop and seem to be greased. Would they still possably be bad enough to make noise? Or could tack welding w/ a mig welder have arced across the needles in the joint and caused a pit that wiped out the joint? Is there something in the transfer case that could be going that may make the same sound as a bad u-joint? The sound really does appear to be coming more from under the cab by the transfercase but its kind of hard to tell where it really is while driving.

 

I would guess you cooked something. If they are that loose, maybe you need new axles, and, by the sounds of what you did, new u-joints. Ted

 

Poor, poor Mr U-Joint. This is where I would start, before you tear anything else apart. My guess is you toasted the bearing when you welded the cup to the axle. As Ted said, you may need a new axle but I would also check that you have the right size U-joint. There's really no wear in that flange, unless something has come to pieces, so if the cup doesn't fit tight chances are it's not the right one.

Ivan

 

Well did some unplaned four wheelin this afternoon after blowing a brake hose. You know the hose that was rubbing on the passenger side axel at the u-joint knuckle. I think that may have been my noise but won't know until I get it replace and routed the right way.

Hopefully the brake hose was getting enough push and causing the caliper to angel and causeing some of the noise. I guess I'll find out once I get it fixed. Which is good news in away since I really don't want to have to pull the tranfercase out to be rebuilt since thats whats really got me worried. If not I guess I will have to look at the joints in the front diveshaft closer and into getting a new axle shaft.

Ivan - I've got the right size joints it was just one cap that loose and that probably came from that fact that when pressing the old cap out it was siezed in the axle bad enough that the press pushed the end out of the cap and left the rest in the axle. The old u-joints were realy bad to start w/ the one in question was all but completely siezed from moving at all in one direction.

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

Well replacing the brake hose seems to have fixed the noise but I do still get a dinging (like the bell on the counter in a store you ring to get someone to come help you) when I start from a stop. It only does it once or twice when I let out on the clutch. Any ideas what that might be?