How's it going? About a week ago I noticed my truck would begin to chug when accelerating from a stop. It only happens off the line in first gear, not immediately, but after reaching around 15-20mph. It's been a sweltering hot 110 degrees here in Vegas, and I'm not sure if that's a part of the cause. I have a few ideas of what the problem may be:

-Injectors
-Fuel Filter
-MAF
-EGR
-Plugs?
-Serpentine Belt
-handful of other sensors
-Dirty TB

All this is fixable, I'm really hoping it isn't a tranny problem. I regularly change the oil with Mobil 1 and filter twice a year, coolant once a year, plugs once a year, fuel filter twice a year, and regularly clean or change out the air filter, MAF, thermostat, etc. O2 sensors and plugs were changed within the last 2 years.

I take care of her pretty well and she's been running great until this little incident. The only thing I really haven't done is change out tranny fluid, and get a new serpentine belt, which was a bit worn last time I checked. I'm thinking both are overdue.

I'm going to be taking a closer look tomorrow at a few things. Maybe dump a can of B12 in the fuel tank, check a plug or 2, clean the MAF and TB, reset, and see how she goes. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

Add the TPS to you list. That one is a little easier as they usually develope a bad section adn will correct if throttle is moved beyond it.

 

What I feared is becoming true. I didn't get a chance to check anything today, but after a trip to PetSmart to get some dog food my tranny sort of died. I was driving out of the parking lot and I heard what sounded like a flat tire. I got out and checked and everything was fine. Then I get in and proceed to drive and I hear this faint clunking noise. I get out again and check under the hood to see if anything is wrong and everything seems fine. As soon as I get out onto the street, I hear a huge clunk and my truck lost power, felt like it went into neutral. I maneuvered over to a side street and put it in park. The street had a small slope and my truck began moving forward, in any gear. Everytime I change gear, I the truck shakes and that big clunking noise comes back. Had to wait for a buddy to come and tow me home. What do you guys think, what am I looking at here?

 

Sounds like a u-joint broke or something in the rearend or transfer case.

 

How fixable is someting like this? I'm somewhat mechanically inclined and know a couple guys who are more or less. If I were to get a new tranny, would I be able to install it, or would I need to bring it down to a shop?

Are there any stores online that sell transmissions? Shopped around and found one for $600 at a junkyard with a 1 year warranty. A shop would run me about $1600 installed.

 

I would crawl underneath it and make sure the driveline is OK. If it's not you have found your problem. If it looks ok then I would jack up the rear end (properly supported) and spin the rear wheels by hand. You will want to do this with the truck in neutral. You are looking for the driveshaft to rotate. After putting the vehicle back on the ground you can also try putting it in 4L and see if that moves it. If it doesn't then transfer case or tranny is at fault.

 

Well I began taking the transmission off today. I was set to remove it and then purchase a new one and install it myself. With the truck in neutral, I began removing the 4 bolts on the rear driveshaft. This is when I noticed that the driveshaft began moving all the way around. I thought this was a bit odd and went ahead an jacked up the rear wheels like you suggested. With it still in neutral, I turned the the rear left wheel first. The driveshaft didn't move. I went to the rear right wheel and turned that and low and behold I heard the clicking that began before my truck broke.

I started the engine and had someone peek underneath when I shifted it into gear. Putting it into reverse made it clunk loud right near the rear wheels and differential. I put it into drive and there was no clunking, but when I gassed it a little it started clunking controllably, all coming from the rear.

So from all of this I assume that the transmission and transfer case isn't the problem since the rear driveshaft does move when I gas it. The sounds are coming from the differential. It's a bit of a relief I suppose, but now I begin searching for the sollution to this? Any ideas? Joints, bearings, springs, etc? Not really familiar with the drivetrain much. Thanks.

 

First, I would remove the rearend cover and see what falls out besides grease.

 

Before I packed it all up for the day, I removed the rear wheels. The left rear axle shaft did not move when I went to turn it, but the right rear axle shaft had lots of play, seemed like it was shot. Would turn continuously in any direction as well as in and out. That would be a quick fix. I will be taking out the cover tomorrow and see what's going on in there. Hopefully the gears are fine, and if not, that'll be an excuse to get better ones. We'll see. I'll get more info tomorrow. Thanks for the replies.

 

My first clue it was not a tranny issue was that it rolled even in park that means the rear diff chunked the spider gears. you are looking at a full rebuild on the rear end.

 

Doing doughnuts are a great way to destroy spider gears. Spider gears usually don't self destruct. Heavy loads during 4X4ing (not pretty when a rear end explodes) or just having too much fun sliding around will ensure them shedding teeth.

 

well i pulled the cover today and found a good a mount of mess as u can see. im not sure exactly which parts are damaged and which aren't. i should've laid them all out and took another pic for you guys to see, but that atf fluid was making me woozy lol. both rear axle shafts, the driveshaft, and their teeth looked fine. everything else was all over the place. i removed everything inside and they are sitting in a box.

like i said, im totally new to the whole drive train stuff. on something like this should i replace the whole rear end or only the parts that were broken? there were a good amount of parts that looked fine. any recommendations as to where to buy some of this stuff online? wonder how much a whole rear end will cost. i'll be calling some shops, dealerships, and junkyards tomorrow. should i get this done at a shop you think? would this also be a good time change out my 3.55 gears to maybe 4.10s? if i change out the rears, i'd have to do the front as well right? lemme know what you guys think. ill post updates.

 

first off yes you have to change both front and rear if you go to a different gear
you might want to shop around to see if a shop will do it for a good price
because if you don't set the back lash right you will endup buying another one
that would be an expensive lesson