Bad rattle, think its front U joints

[aj20045]

Ok, i have a 1996 ford explorer. Well, it has this very bad shaking rattle noise and i think its the front U-joints. I got under the car, and shoke the front shaft, and it is loose. Asked my local service man, and he says that the front shaft didnt spin unless it 4WD, thus thinking that isnt the problem. Well, i think differently.


I think:

While NOT in 4WD: that the transfer case is not providing power to the front wheels, BUT the wheels while spinning while driving are spinning the front shaft.

While IN 4WD: the transfer case applies power to the shaft and spinning the wheels.

what do you guys think? is it the U joint and does the front shaft spin always because of the spinning front wheels?

Thanks guys!

 

[manaen]

a 96 is a gen2 which I believe all gen2's have the hub-less system where the front drive shaft is spinning all the time. So you are correct and you can gloat over your mechanic

The front should not have u-joints they have CV's instead which when they go bad tend to buzz or grind, not so much a rattle, depending on the state of your cv's there may be some play in the joints. Just make sure the CV boots are in good shape and full of clean grease.

However a very common problem is the ball joints and when they go bad they will begin to rattle over all the bumps in the road. You should be able to tell if they are bad by jacking up the vehicle and see if there is play in the wheel both top to bottom and side to side. It helps to have a friend do the shaking because there can be many causes of the rattle and then you can look around while he shakes the wheel.
Check for.....
1) tie rod ends
2) ball joints
3) wheel bearings
4) bad shock
5) worn body mount
6) worn torsion bar pad
etc...

 

[aj20045]

a 96 is a gen2 which I believe all gen2's have the hub-less system where the front drive shaft is spinning all the time. So you are correct and you can gloat over your mechanic

The front should not have u-joints they have CV's instead which when they go bad tend to buzz or grind, not so much a rattle, depending on the state of your cv's there may be some play in the joints. Just make sure the CV boots are in good shape and full of clean grease.

However a very common problem is the ball joints and when they go bad they will begin to rattle over all the bumps in the road. You should be able to tell if they are bad by jacking up the vehicle and see if there is play in the wheel both top to bottom and side to side. It helps to have a friend do the shaking because there can be many causes of the rattle and then you can look around while he shakes the wheel.
Check for.....
1) tie rod ends
2) ball joints
3) wheel bearings
4) bad shock
5) worn body mount
6) worn torsion bar pad
etc...

ok, Well i dont know a whole lot about the front end and i dont no exactly what cv's are. What i do know is the front shaft(shaft comming from transfer case to the front diff.) is what im talking about. It has 2 U joints on the transfer case side, and not sure about the front. In the middle area of this shaft there is like a rubber boot on it(maybe cv?) There is some play in the shaft where the 2 U joints are together towards the T case. I dont no if it should.
I was messing with it today, and drove it. I put it into 4 hi and low. When in 4 low, it was cluncking really bad(i dont think its the T case, but not possitive.) in 4 high, it was pretty much like the same as in 2 high, but it was making more noise and vibrating a little more. In 2 high, it was just rattling here and there, and vibrating and kinda "clunking."

I just put in a brand new set of ball joints like a week ago! so it kinda cant be that.

Well, hope this helps you help me!

 

[aj20045]

oh, and i hope you guys can help me figure this out, im missing work on this and if i dont get it goin, i think i will be one more person in the jobless bum position!

 

[manaen]

Ahh ok you are referring to the front drive shaft from the transfer case to the pumpkin. That does have regular ujoints, and it does spin all the time. If they feel loose at all replace them now before it flies apart on the road. blown ujoint is some bad stuff when your driving down a road at 50mph!!!!

they are not hard to replace, just a matter of pulling the snaprings and tapping the old ones out. It is easier with the shaft removed.

What does your 4wd selector knob say ie(4x4 auto, 4x4 hi, 4x4 lo) or (awd, 4x4hi, 4x4lo) or (2wd , 4x4hi, 4x4lo) ?

you may be able to just remove the shaft and drive without it for a few days, however we need to find out which transfer case you have.

 

[aj20045]

it says 2wd , 4x4hi, 4x4lo. Another machanic i talked to said that i cannot just pull shaft out and drive it.

 

[manaen]

it says 2wd , 4x4hi, 4x4lo. Another machanic i talked to said that i cannot just pull shaft out and drive it.

with that transfer case, you actually can, but it is not recommended for any period of time. If you do, I would pull the fuses for the transfercase shift motor just so it doesn't get shifted into 4x4 by accident.

I am a proponent for fixing the problem and not working around it.

 

[daffy]

Like manaen said, you can do it just fine, no ill effects as long as it doesn't get into 4wd.

Just remember that if the front shaft is removed. putting it in park does nothing for you, it will roll.

That will at least get you to work so you can pay to fix the problem.

 

[Mbrooks420]

The v-6's won't roll in park with noo front shaft those are the AWD's. I wouldn't miss work for suspected bad u joints. They can get pretty terrible before anything bad happens.