Front axle, 4wd help

Hi all,

I'd love some help diagnosing a heavy clunk sound that I get when going into or out of 4wd. This sound appeared after I did work on the front end.

A bit back I did a bunch of work to the front of my 96 xlt 4.0 4wd. I replaced all the seals, u-joints, brakes, etc that I could get to. I also replaced wheel bearings and bearings within the auto hubs and reapplied grease to them. Through the course of this work, I removed the stubby axle on the passenger side, but not the section that goes into the pumpkin. On the drivers side, I removed the axle section that does go into the pumpkin. I did not at any time open up the pumpkin, but did replace seals that I could reach within it.

Now, any time I go into 4wd, there is a delay and then a big clunk as the 4wd engages. The same happens when disengaging.

Following reassembly, I know that I did one thing incorrectly, but not sure how big of a deal it is. I didn't line the ears of the two axle sections up with each other.

Are there clips or springs or other reasons that I should have opened up the pumpkin to reassemble the front end? Does this behavior sound like a failure of the pumpkin or the auto hubs? How can I test these things to diagnose the problem?

Thanks

When reassembling the front drivers side axle, is there any reason that the pumpkin needs to be opened on a Dana 35 front end? Are there clips, springs, etc that need to be locked in from the inside?

Still looking for a starting point for troubleshooting the problem I listed above.

No reason to open the pumpkin to remove or replace the DS axle. It just slides in.
So when you get this clunk, are you moving or stationary?

Moving. It's hard to tell if the sound is coming from the pumpkin or off to one side when I'm sitting in the cab.

Is the right side outer axle the same? Just slides in to the other axle segment and zip tie the rubber boot? If so, maybe I messed up something in the auto hub.

Yes, passenger side outer just slips in.
I agree that the hubs sound like the problem somehow. You say you 'reapplied grease', how much?

Thanks for your help, Bill.

I had read that I shouldn't put much grease in at all, so after soaking the hubs overnight with brake cleaner and rinsing (and installing new bearings), I applied a small amount of grease to them (much less than was present before I cleaned it out). However, the hubs would get very hot to the touch after driving, so I applied more. Still not as much as was in there to begin with, but more.

Enough so that you can see grease when you look inside the hubs, but not caked in there.

Maybe the brake cleaner stripped lube off parts that the grease isn't reaching.
The recommended clean/lube for the hubs is to take them off, set them down, fill them up with ATF, let them soak, dump out and let drain, them reinstall.
Maybe try that?

Hi Bill,

I misspoke from memory; I did use ATF. But I think re-doing this is a good place to start, though. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again!

I would also lean on it being the hubs as well.

I'd swap them out for a set of manual hubs. Even when working properly, the auto hubs leave a lot to be desired (not as strong, and they can disengage for a moment each time you change directions forward-reverse).