Clicking sound from under vehicle (97 5.0 AWD)

[bigdaddykarl]

I've always heard that it was bad to remove that driveshaft, is this merely myth?

Has anyone priced having the tc rebuilt at a shop? I'm sure at the dealer, they'd get $2500 out of us for a replacement...

 

[smiley1]

If you have an AWD and your viscous coupling is bad then its better to just buy a new tc. I dont think that there is that much of a price difference between replacing the viscous coupling compaired to the tc.

 

[Nitrous SSC]

Mine does this clicking sound too....Its done it ever since I got my paws on the X since last nov.

So everyones conclution is that its the front drive shaft?

 

[sgarcia89lx]

mine has a very light clicking sound when slowing down on the left frt wheel it kind of goes away after it speeds up but when you slow down i can here .i thought it was normal.

 

[smiley1]

WELL, IT FINALLY WENT.

It broke today. It went from the soft pinging noise to loud banging nois like someone was taking a sledge hammer to my drivetrain.

I parked it and crawled under the X. I grabbed hold of the front shaft and shook it. It was loose at the transfer case and rattled. Thats the internals of the transfer case. The shaft coupling is secure.

I guess I get a new TC.

The only thing that sucked was Ford roadside assistance said they couldnt find a tow for me and that if I wanted to get home I would have to find a tow myself!! This is in URBAN SAN FRANCISCO BAY!! That just floored me.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

It may be a free, 5min fix guys

A few weeks ago I thought my front driveshaft CV or t-case went. I suddenly heard a very loud banging noise that was speed dependant coming from under my feet. Like a sledgehammer hitting metal.

Turned out that the bolts holding the front driveshaft CV to the t-case had work their way loose, and a simple tightening of the bolts removed the banging completely. Check that out first, and use locktite on re-assembly.

-Aaron

 

[smiley1]

Thanks, but I did check them a week ago after I read about your thread. All is good in that respect.

 

[gators0204]

I too have the clunking sound. Clunks all the way up to 70mph, and on lock to lock turns it sounds like the truck is gonna fall apart.
I know that its the viscous clutch causing this, I'm just gonna replace the whole t-case with a rebuilt one.

 

[smiley1]

Ok. It was my front drive shaft. I dove it til it broke so they had to find the problem. It sounds like the transfer case but it is the coupler that is at the front of the TC. Hope this helps.

 

[KEbert]

MSounds to me like the driveline. I put one in my cousin's 97 5.0 awd. It started out as a light tick while it rolled forward then became very loud and noticable through the steerinf after a few hundred miles. I think the cv in the driveline dries up and the balls start to rust.

 

[Mbrooks420]

This is a problem that I am so far missing. I do have a drivers side cv that is bad, and the imfamous manifold leak, however.

I too have the clunking sound. Clunks all the way up to 70mph, and on lock to lock turns it sounds like the truck is gonna fall apart.
I know that its the viscous clutch causing this, I'm just gonna replace the whole t-case with a rebuilt one.

I'd check out the cv's if it sounds bad at full lock. The t-case is a lot more price than 2 half shafts.

No...the "famous" 4.0 tick is the timing chain tensioners weakening and causing the chain to make a ticking or bicycle chain noise. This is assuming you have the SOHC of course.

The OHV just ticks. It comes factory pre-set to be a weak, noisy motor. *hides* No, really, the wrist pins used in the later models for emissions sake cause some annoying noises, but they are not a problem. It sounds like marbles in a tin can rolling around.

The OHV does not come from the factory noisy. Mine had over 120k when the lifters first became noticable. While the OHV isn't a powerhouse it is reliable, and nothing has every been a defect to the point where Ford has recalled them.(when Ford issues a recall, something is a MAJOR problem)

 

[i1luzion]

My 97 mountaineer does the same thing but I pretty much only notice it while I'm at a drive through. Does this need to be fixed or is it just a nuisance?

 

[gators0204]

.
I'd check out the cv's if it sounds bad at full lock. The t-case is a lot more price than 2 half shafts.QUOTE]
Even driving straight? It feels like the AWD is slipping. Plus i took it to a tranny shop and they also said it was the VC

 

[smiley1]

I thought for a long time that I had a Bad TC and that my viscous coupler was frozen or bad. It finaly went only to find that it was the front drive shaft. Here is a crude test to see if you have a bad front drive shaft.

Get under your X and grab hold of the front drive shaft as close to the TC as possible with both hands. Shake the thing with a lot of muscle. Push up down side to side, twist it...whatever you can do. If there is even the slightest play or makes noise but apears to be inside the TC then I would bet you have a bad drive shaft.

 

[97BlackX5.0]

i just took the transfer case and transmission out of my truck... the tranfer case definately has some play in the chain... im going to pull it apart. ill keep you posted on what i find..

 

[97BlackX5.0]

well i ran outf t ime fixing my tranny so the transfer case went back in without getting opened... it did however get a long overdue oil change.... you can rebuild these yourself however and im sure it is not hard for a competent mechanic.... somehwere online someone had got an entire rebuild kit for under 300 bucks...... so it is possible to rebuild it.... i just got done totally rebuilding the tranny and spent less than 225 dollars for this....

 

[tersian]

Mine still has the crunchy clicky noise coming from the TC area. It seems to get worse when everything warms up from a long drive. It is definately coming from the drive line, not from the engine and I can clearly hear it when rolling at idle or slowing to stop. Are we all talking about the same noise and are we all thinking it is now the drive shaft joint at the TC?

-B

 

[smiley1]

Are we all talking about the same noise and are we all thinking it is now the drive shaft joint at the TC?

Yes, if it is as you describe. Have you checked it for any play? If so just replace the front drive shaft. That should fix it. Be careful, I drove mine to total failure...to the point it sounded and felt like someone was taking a sledge hammer to the floor board.

 

[Mike T]

Well I FINALLY decided to do something about the noise. I went ahead and replaced the front driveshaft ($220 for part, and 45min to swap). And it turns out the sound was in fact coming from the joint on the transfer case side of the shaft. When I took the old shaft off, I could see that the rubber boot on the joint was cracked, and seeping grease. With the new shaft on, the old ticking crunching metallic sound is gone. However, the new shaft does make a little bit of noise, but it's not nearly as harsh or nearly as noticable as before. Before it was loud enough that it almost seemed to echo off of nearby buildings. It was actually embarrasing. However the new sound is more like the sound of the rubber boot flexing. Which I can deal with (it might go away after it breaks in).

 

[Joey P]

So this noise is in fact the front driveshaft? I have it and I don't like it one bit. It is only noisey when driving slow and then it disapears. Can it be greased or replaced without replacing the driveshaft?