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Thumping while driving

Smurfslayer

Member
Joined
September 19, 2000
Messages
32
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City, State
Northern Virginia
Year, Model & Trim Level
'91 EB
Lately, about the last week, I've been noticing an increasing 'thump' as I drive. I noticed it first, and still, most prominently on deceleration. It's rhytmic, and seems to be proportional to driveline speed. It's a '91 EB 4x4. It's not engine I don't think - once the valve clatter stops, and the startup 'knock', when it warms up, there's no 'other noise' while not under load. During a non congested stretch, I eased the truck into neutral, and it still continued to thump. I got under the truck without ramps & looked around with a light, I didn't see anything loose that I could easily identify, I grabbed & yanked on the drive shafts, and they felt tight. Wheels & tires looked ok & they weren't 'mudded up'. I can't notice the symptom until about 25 mph, it doesn't seem as bad while accelerating, and the brakes almost seem to 'quell' the symptom a little...

Any ideas?
 



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Could be a warped rotor. You'd be able to tell if the sound was coming from the driver or passenger side though.
 






hmmm...

The rotors are fairly new - probably less than 4k miles, and about 7 months... Which is certainly no guarantee...

There's no brake pulsation though. I checked the exhaust too, and while it's not rock solid, it doesn't show signs of impacting that I can see. I'm going to put her on ramps to check, once the hurricane subsides...

Thanks, all input appreciated.
 






Radius Arm Bushings?
 






maybe...

I'm pretty sure this truck is all stock, right down to the fluids ( except oil & trans fluid ). I bought it used a couple years back... My 1st thought(s) were U joints, but they didn't seem to have play...
 






Sounds like your tires may be out of balance.
 






I don't _think_ there's an out of balance tire, the ride quality hasn't diminished, there's no shimmy, no shake, no steering wheel jumping. Plus, the thumping is something that you can hear, as well as feel 'through' the truck. I checked the tires for signs of an imminent blow out, but found none, and a subsequent ride wasn't telling of that either. I'll still give the wheels & tires another look...
 






Auto hubs going bad? Engage the transfer case long enough to engage the hubs, then disengage the t-case without disengaging the hubs. See if the noise goes away.
 






I had a thumping noise from the tires when I found out my tire pressure was VERY low.
 






hubs... there's a thought.

I'll give the tires a check as well, and take her around the block engaging the trans case... That was on the agenda, but I wanted to do it close to home just in case...

Thanks again...
This is the 1st opportunity I've had since the 'cane. I lost power for 36 hours...
 






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