Need help with noise ASAP!!

[sharkbait69]

When rolling in gear I have a clicking/banging/knocking type noise coming from the front end. Of course when driving I hear it the worste from the left front. I have checked calipers and they are tight. Put the truck up on jackstands and ran and no noise now. Pulled the front driveshaft and spun front diff and no noise now. The front end has been out of align for a while and the front tires are shot. I know that the Dana 35 has small pinion bearings and expexted to immediately be able to pinpoint the noise to the diff, however now I'm not sure. Any suggestions or knowledge you can pass along??? This is one of our primary drivers and I need it asap as the snow is falling tomorrow and the old lady's malibu is the only other vehicle we have now. HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[sharkbait69]

Lots of views, but no ideas? C'mon please! Anyone?

 

[chriswells78]

When is the noise worst? What speed, what condition (turning/acceleraton etc?)

 

[sharkbait69]

The noise seems constantly related to wheel speed. You hear it most obviously when driving slow. Then you can hear it very distinct each time it clicks. The faster you go it almost turns into a ringing. Turning has no effect and accelerating hard might diminish the noise a little.
Here is a little info on the vehicle
97 Mounty,5.0, AWD, 135,000 miles, all stock.

 

[sharkbait69]

Wheel bearings seem to be ok, no play at the wheels. No clunking noises anywhere with this thing off of the ground. Could the CV shaft be bad?? I don't feel any play in them. With the front driveshaft hooked up I can turn in and there seems to be some noise there at the input shaft. I can't hear it with the truck running in gear though.

 

[chriswells78]

Ever changed your hubs? Kind of sounds like the hub may be going bad.

 

[sharkbait69]

Found a broken sway bar link on the passenger side, but it obviously isn't causing the noise. Still looking. Any further suggestions?

 

[chriswells78]

do you have 4 jack stands? If so, put the truck up with 4 wheels off the ground. With the 4 wheels off of the ground, put it in gear and listen for any noises. Sometimes it helps to have a mechanics stethescope or a really long screw driver. If you have either of the two, touch it to non-moving, possible areas of concern, and listen for irratic noises. Compare the sound of the drivers side to what you hear on the passenger side. This will help you pinpoint the noise.

Broken sway bar link could have caused the noises you mentioned in the first post though. It could have at least been some of your noises. Especially the banging you spoke of.

 

[sharkbait69]

ok, I have the noise pinpointed. The front driveshaft goes into a coupler at the transfer case. There is slop there at that coupler. Is that part of the shaft, t-case, or a part I can replace seperately?

 

[chriswells78]

There are 2 different kinds of front driveshaft couplers and 98/97 was the year of the change. Does your driveshaft have a universal at that coupler or doe it have a funky rubber ball with 6 aluminum bolts? If it's the kind with the 6 bolts, I'd say it could be the driveshaft. I've heard of a couple people have them go bad at that point.

 

[sharkbait69]

I will have to look when I get home, but if i remember right the shaft goes into the coupler through a rubber boot, I don't recall the # of bolts holding it on. I have found some info on alldata that leads me to having to replace the whole driveshaft, however I talked to a guy that works for a major remanufacturer of the BW4404 and he said that that is part of the front output shaft ===== EERRRR this is getting old. I should be able to get somewhere tonight hopefully. Is it safe to drive the truck with the front shaft out? It's AWD, not 4WD/

 

[JoeMahma]

I will have to look when I get home, but if i remember right the shaft goes into the coupler through a rubber boot, I don't recall the # of bolts holding it on. I have found some info on alldata that leads me to having to replace the whole driveshaft, however I talked to a guy that works for a major remanufacturer of the BW4404 and he said that that is part of the front output shaft ===== EERRRR this is getting old. I should be able to get somewhere tonight hopefully. Is it safe to drive the truck with the front shaft out? It's AWD, not 4WD/

Be careful that truck doesn't roll away on you without that front driveshaft on. As far as the joint, if it is the cv type joint, I have found that it can all be removed from the driveshaft and cleaned or replaced. The problem is finding a new one as I have not seen them for sale as a separate part. I have not tried this but I'll bet you could use the cv joint from either the 5.0 style shaft or the 4.0 shaft. The joints both look the same but the driveshafts are different lengths. The reason I was thinking this is that the 4.0 shafts are all over the place in the scrapyards as opposed to the 5.0 shafts. Anyway, if you remove the shaft from the case and carefully remove the metal retaining band that holds the boot in place (circled) you can the remove the boot by slipping the cup off of the bell (lines) This is just a friction fit and you might have to use a screwdriver or small chisel to get it going...carefully of course. You can then slip the boot down the shaft and all of your ball bearings will fall out of the carrier...watch how they come apart. The carrier is just held onto the shaft with a big c clip if I remember. GETTING IT BACK TOGETHER IS VERY TRICKY, it all fits back together like a puzzle but I was able to clean mine all up and re grease and get it back together and it is working fine. Maybe you can get a new joint from the scrapyard or buy a new one. Hope this helps.

P.S. Thanks for the pics to whoever posted em for me to draw badly on.

 

[sharkbait69]

This picture is it exactly. I have it out and apart but don't really see anything that looks like it is causing the noise. All of the ball bearings inside seem fine, the tracks and ring inside look ok. I can turn the output shaft on the xfer case back and forth a little, but I'm not sure if that is just chain slop??? With the front driveshaft out and the truck in gear I can't hear the noise at all now like I could with the driveshaft in. Will it hurt anything to drive with the front driveshaft removed since this is AWD and not 4X4?

 

[chriswells78]

It will roll if you are on a hill in park. Make sure to use your E-brake.

 

[JoeMahma]

This picture is it exactly. I have it out and apart but don't really see anything that looks like it is causing the noise. All of the ball bearings inside seem fine, the tracks and ring inside look ok. I can turn the output shaft on the xfer case back and forth a little, but I'm not sure if that is just chain slop??? With the front driveshaft out and the truck in gear I can't hear the noise at all now like I could with the driveshaft in. Will it hurt anything to drive with the front driveshaft removed since this is AWD and not 4X4?

Same thing was happening to me only my noise was a loud thump or clunk under hard acceleration. Took the front shaft off and it went away so I figured it to be the shaft and replaced it...still had the clunk. Turns out it was the transfer case. How was the boot on that driveshaft? Was it torn at all?

 

[sharkbait69]

The boot was torn, but when I took that assy apart I didn't see any real damage. There wasn't much grease left in the cup though, I guess that could cause some noise huh? I guess tonight I will drop it down and drive it with that front shaft out and see if the noise is still there. If its gone I will repack the driveshaft and install and see.

 

[sharkbait69]

No noise with the shaft out. Drove it to work today (about 4 miles). Keeping my fingers crossed with putting the driveshaft back together

 

[pubenemy]

I have a 97 5.0 awd also. Your problem sounds like one of mine exactly. The cv end of your driveshaft is bad. Mine made horrid noise exactly like yours. When I took the driveshaft off the cv end the boot was torn and the metal inside had turned to dust and the ball bearings fell right out. I cant believe it moved at all. Replacement driveshafts at napa are around $275 i think for lifetime replacement. Course you could check around junkyards if theres still any in your area. Unfortunately I couldnt drive mine without a front shaft I found out when removing it that the transfer case went bad and the truck wont move at all without a front shaft. :/ From what I've read you can ride around for awhile without a front shaft "if your tcase is ok!" but as mentioned use your ebrake.
-Mike