Clunking noise when stopping, rear axle play.

[xFatcatx]

99' sport, 4wd with the 4l sohc, about 125k miles.

Been hearing a skidding/grabbing/studdering (hard to explain its not a grinding noise) when the truck comes to a complete stop while applying the brakes. No noise while the truck is stopping, just when it completes the stop. And the noise happens again when brakes are released to take off again.

Sounded at first like it was coming from the front, now it sounds like the rear. I just pulled all for wheels off and everything visually looks fine with the brakes, pulled the rear calibers.

What I thought was odd and im not sure if it is normal, is in/out play on the rear axle. With the wheels off and pulling in/out on the lug nut studs there is about 1/8-1/4 inch play on the right side and about 1/8 on the left side. Should there be any play there? I dont know anything about these rear ends, are there wheel bearings in there that could be bad?

Also it appeared that the brake shield on the right rear was bent, not to bad but noticable. I was told nothing was hit/run over but I bent it back by hand so its straight. I dont think it was bent enough to be rubbing.

The other thing is the right front lower ball joint is shot, tons of play up/down with the wheel jacked up and prying underneath tire with the jack handle. I did the left side about 2 years ago and it still feels fine. Could the lbj noise be transferring (hence being hard to pin point stopping noise) and causing the noise while braking?

Reguardless im going to pick up an lbj now and get that done tomorrow since i know its bad and go from there. Havent checked the rear drive shaft, will do that tomorrow when the rig is at my place.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

 

[yavapaires]

Axle end play of 1/8" is normal. The noise could be the park brake shoes, just an off hand guess from here.

 

[storlied]

Did you check your sway bars and bushings?

Oh and yes, bad lowers will cause all kinds of clunking and noises. Specially on bumps and weight transfer like stopping.

 

[xFatcatx]

I did pull one rear rotor off and park brake assembly looked good, however I'm not sure if that is the side I put new shoes on or not a while back. I got the truck here now, had limited tools and little room/light yesterday. Gonna change the lbj in a bit here, and will check sway bar bushings and update should noise still be there. Thanks

 

[xFatcatx]

Got the lbj done, im thinking that was the noise. Im not 100% sure since there is quite a few noises coming from the rig but its safe to drive now I believe. Of course truck wouldnt idle this morning when I went to start it up. Air filter was filthy so put a new one in and cleaned the IAC, needs a tune up. I put some lucas injector cleaner in the gas tank also and bought some spray cleaner thats safe for the map sensor, anyone know if you can just spray that stuff right into the intake?

Of course i had the wrong collar on the bottom side when pressing out the lbj, so I was basically pressing it against itself when I thought it was pushing against the lower control arm. Bent my breaker bar with the cheater i had on it until i figured something wasnt right....woulda been an hour job otherwise.

Thanks

 

[storlied]

You take out the MAF and spray the cleaner into the sensor housing, don't spray anything into the intake.

 

[xFatcatx]

You take out the MAF and spray the cleaner into the sensor housing, don't spray anything into the intake.

Ok thanks, I wasn't sure and I didn't have the right torx bit to remove the sensor it had some kind of stud on the middle of the torx bolt so skipped it. Will do that when I tune up.

 

[storlied]

Just remove the whole thing, the complete MAF housing.. don't bother with just the sensor.. you can spray it just the same...

 

[98MercMounty]

Was it the ball joint or the rear axle?

99' sport, 4wd with the 4l sohc, about 125k miles.

Been hearing a skidding/grabbing/studdering (hard to explain its not a grinding noise) when the truck comes to a complete stop while applying the brakes. No noise while the truck is stopping, just when it completes the stop. And the noise happens again when brakes are released to take off again.

Sounded at first like it was coming from the front, now it sounds like the rear. I just pulled all for wheels off and everything visually looks fine with the brakes, pulled the rear calibers.

What I thought was odd and im not sure if it is normal, is in/out play on the rear axle. With the wheels off and pulling in/out on the lug nut studs there is about 1/8-1/4 inch play on the right side and about 1/8 on the left side. Should there be any play there? I dont know anything about these rear ends, are there wheel bearings in there that could be bad?

Also it appeared that the brake shield on the right rear was bent, not to bad but noticable. I was told nothing was hit/run over but I bent it back by hand so its straight. I dont think it was bent enough to be rubbing.

The other thing is the right front lower ball joint is shot, tons of play up/down with the wheel jacked up and prying underneath tire with the jack handle. I did the left side about 2 years ago and it still feels fine. Could the lbj noise be transferring (hence being hard to pin point stopping noise) and causing the noise while braking?

Reguardless im going to pick up an lbj now and get that done tomorrow since i know its bad and go from there. Havent checked the rear drive shaft, will do that tomorrow when the rig is at my place.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

Hi, I have an Explorer-based 98 Mercury Mountaineer (4.0L SOHC V6) with only 113K original miles (original owner) and I am having almost exactly the same problem except I would probably describe it a little differently. As I decelerate to a stop, i hear a clunk in the back just moments before i come to a complete stop. I figure it's due to play in the driveshaft ujoint or the rear axle (differential)? Sometimes it's on an acceleration but less noticeable or frequent.

Coincidentally, I have a right front lower balljoint issue too. I crawled underneath and could see that there is a slit in rubber part of the balljoint, but don't see any grease. The balljoint was a closed system and didn't have any fitting for greasing. The symptoms with the lower right balljoint is that whenever I make left turn or backing out to the left (basically whenever the steering wheel is turned to the left) into or out of my driveway, I hear a click or a series of clicks from the right front. My shocks are worn as well and I should've changed them out. Perhaps, the shock dampening could've saved my balljoint. Question: 1) I hear that balljoints should be replaced in pairs (i.e. when replacing LBJ, also replace UBJ)? 2) I heard that the UBJ cannot be replaced and the whole upper control arm needs to be replaced? So, to do one side I have to replace a)upper control arm with balljoint and b) just the lower balljoint? 3) when replacing balljoints on one side (passenger side)...should I replace the other side (Driver side) at the same time? 4) i hear that Moog is a good brand, but if you replace it on one side (upper control arm with balljoint) you need to replace it on the other side. Is this true or can i just replace it with Moog just on the one side to save money? Or don't use the Mogg and just replace the right side with some other brand?

Very coincidentally, I was thinking of using the Lucas Fuel additive to clean my injectors as well. Did you get better performance or fuel savings? Or should I use Techron?

Very very coincidentally, I was thinking of cleaning the MAF sensor or even the throttle intake cause it seems to idle just a bit rough. Last week, i had trouble starting the car. It starts and dies immediately...wouldn't idle. Tried a few times and gave up. Latter in the day(2 hrs latter), I tried again but it was the same and it wanted to die once it got started and so i pumped the accelerator to keep it alive and then it was idling all by itself. It's been over a week and I haven't had any problems starting the car. Hmm? Fuel filter has never been replaced. According to maintenance schedule, fuel filter change is recommended but not required in California. I use Costco gas (regular octance 87). That's why i was thinking of cleaning the MAF and/or using Chevron Techron gas or the Lucas fuel additive to clean engine and injectors. Any recommendations?

Finally, what resolved your rear end noise? Was it even coming from the rear end or was it due to your lower right front balljoint?

Thanks!

 

[lobo411]

Fuel filter has never been replaced. According to maintenance schedule, fuel filter change is recommended but not required in California.

Change your fuel filter. It's kind of a pain to deal with the spring disconnect fuel line fittings (requires a special tool, which costs about $10), but once you figure it out it's more of a hassle than a difficult job. Don't even have to jack up the car!

 

[BobbyTang]

You take out the MAF and spray the cleaner into the sensor housing, don't spray anything into the intake.

Pulled the mass airflow sensor housing and blasted the crap out of it with brake cleaner and left it out in the sun for a couple hours to dry up before putting it back together. Took away my p0171&p0174 error codes and my idle has been better. Been three months with no problems

 

[bill06447]

Make sure your fuel tank is attached. A rusted through strap will cause all kinds of noises as fuel moves around (been there)

Bill