Strange noises???
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Lead Driver
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Northern Indiana
Strange noises???
I have a 97 s/c 4x4 with the 4.6. I have a few noises that are driving me crazy. When I am driving down the road and let off the gas I get a vibration in the truck. I was wondering if it could be the u-joints because the truck has 140k on it. Also when you are slowing down from speed right before you stop I hear a squeking from the rear like rubber rubbing on something. The last problem is when I put the truck in reverse and start backing up there is a squeking from the rear also. These problems have me stumped, any help or advice would be a big help.
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Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Heart of Dixie
About 4 months ago I was having the same problems as you. They got worse and worse until it was squeaking all the time, and a bad clunking every time my gears shifted. It was a U-joint problem, and it's bad. You should go ahead and get it looked at. It will last you a few more months before it becomes a serious problem. But as for the time being, just have a can of penetrating lubricant in your truck and spray the U-joint down every once in a while, that should lessen the squeaking, and dont gun your way around town, that makes it worse even quicker.
One way you can check it at home is to jack up one of your rear tires, doesnt really matter which one. Once it is off the ground give it a little cranking just to move the U-joint and see if there is any slop (when the U-joint isn't tightly holding the driveshaft to the differential at the joint). You might not be able to see much slop right now but it will get worse, and thats what it did for me. And when time does come to get it fixed, dont take it to Ford, take it to a good drivetrain shop, they will save you half of what you'd payed at a Ford dealership.
Drew
One way you can check it at home is to jack up one of your rear tires, doesnt really matter which one. Once it is off the ground give it a little cranking just to move the U-joint and see if there is any slop (when the U-joint isn't tightly holding the driveshaft to the differential at the joint). You might not be able to see much slop right now but it will get worse, and thats what it did for me. And when time does come to get it fixed, dont take it to Ford, take it to a good drivetrain shop, they will save you half of what you'd payed at a Ford dealership.
Drew
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Lead Driver
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Northern Indiana
Thanks for the reply, I was getting worried that nobody could help me. I will keep you informed on how it goes, I bought the parts on mon and I am going to try to get it done tomorrow.
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Lead Driver
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Northern Indiana
Thanks for the support, but I did what you said and jacked up the tire in the rear. The u-joints didn't seem to have hardly any play, the driveshaft would rotate right away and maybe rotate about 1/2 inch but then the shaft would stop but the tire would continue to rotate about another1 to 1 1/2 inches. Have you ever heard of this? It has me wondering if I have a problem in the rear end. On a side note how many miles do you have on your truck.
Hotshot
Joined: Aug 2002
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From: BC, Canada
U-joints that are bad don't always have extra play in them. Sometimes they seize instead. The way to tell is to remove the driveshaft and rotate the joint back and forth to see if it moves freely or binds up. It should move smoothly and freely.
What you're describing in the rear diff sounds normal. They do normally have some play in them.
What you're describing in the rear diff sounds normal. They do normally have some play in them.
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Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Heart of Dixie
I have about 120k miles on my truck. Racerguy, the reason I said he should check for some slop in his u-joint is because his noises are exactly what was happening to mine, and it evolved into very bad slop.
As for your U-joint Firefighter, I never really checked my U-joint when it made the noise when I was in reverse, but once it started to make the noise when I was going forward is when I checked it, and the amout of slop had been getting worse and worse since. So just check it every once in a while and make sure it's not getting worse.
Drew
As for your U-joint Firefighter, I never really checked my U-joint when it made the noise when I was in reverse, but once it started to make the noise when I was going forward is when I checked it, and the amout of slop had been getting worse and worse since. So just check it every once in a while and make sure it's not getting worse.
Drew
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Hotshot
Joined: Aug 2002
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From: BC, Canada
Drew sometimes they seize up, make noise and vibrate and then after that they become loose. Or sometimes they just wear out and become loose first.
Whichever way this one went I think you are right about the u-joint being the problem.
Whichever way this one went I think you are right about the u-joint being the problem.
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Lead Driver
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Northern Indiana
Sorry its taken so long but I went ahead and changed the u-joints and in the process knock the driveshaft out of balance. Took it and got it balanced and solved the problem. But now the same exact vibration in the drivetrain is back. I have made sure u-joints are greased, driveshaft balance weights are still in place, I have rotated the tires but the vibration is still there. What else could it be. I made sure the transmission mounting bolts were tight to. Could the tire be out of balance? Any other suggestions?
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Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Heart of Dixie
Did you get your tires balanced along with the rotation? If you live in a wet or moist area with alot of humidity it is know that when you air up your tires water will get in there along with the air and can make tires vibrate at high speeds. Other than that I am not too sure what else could be causing it to vibrate. Does it vibrate when you are driving all the time or just when you dont have your foot on the gas? 99 percent of the time u-joints will only vibrate when you slow down, so if its vibrating when you are accelerating or have you foot on the accelerator, chances are that it isn't caused by your u-joints.