front end clinking and vibration problem

[jbas123]

Ok well im new here and I have an 01 mountaineer with the 5.0 v8. And its awd. The problem is that it have been vibrating for a while now, when the windows are closed it sounds like a helicopter. But it goes away if I step on the gas hard or hit the brakes. I have no idea what it could be. And then today it started to make a clinking sound, like the sound a roller coaster makes when you go up the first hill like clink clink clink.... and so on. But it only does it when I start accelerating and turning. I don't know much about cars so any help would be greatly appreciated. Also I've replaced the front wheel bearing and it didn't help, thanks.

 

[swetrid]

Front driveshaft, they go bad often on explorers

 

[gavin]

Front driveshaft, they go bad often on explorers

this would be my first guess.

 

[jbas123]

thanks guys, how can i tell if it really is the front driveshaft? And is there anyway i could just remove it and have it be rwd?

 

[gavin]

chock tires; put vehicle in Neutral. How much play is in the cv-joint of the driveshaft? That would be at the t-case end.

yes, you can remove the front shaft, but the vehicle will roll if parked on an grade. You would definitely need to use your parking brake, or chock the tires.

 

[jbas123]

Im not at home so I'll check the cv joints play later, but if I took out the front driveshaft would I need any other parts? Or does it just come right out? Im new at working on cars so I don't know much yet haha.

 

[gavin]

5/16" socket (might need torx bit instead) to remove the shaft from the pinion on the axle housing.
5/16" socket for removing the 6 bolts that bolt to the t-case.

and no, after removing the front u-joint straps and 6 bolts for the t-case end, it should pop right out.

Although it may require a little umph to get it out of the t-case output cup; I know a couple times I removed mine, it definitely didn't "pop right out" of the cup.

 

[jbas123]

Ok thanks man. About how long will that take to do? And can I just jack the car up? Or do I need a lift or something like that?

 

[gavin]

eh, it takes me maybe 15 minutes, only because the rear bolts are a bit hard to get with the cross-member in the way. Even with a long extension for the ratchet.

if you can crawl under the truck, that's all you need to do. No jacks or anything necessary, unless you have a gut that won't fit underneath the frame rails :

 

[jbas123]

Haha my gut will fit just fine, so im going to crawl underneath and do it tomorrow. But one final question, will removing the front driveshaft cause any negitive effects? And will it just be rwd and the front wheels and cv joints won't do anything?

 

[gavin]

the front diff will still be rotating. They just won't be pulling any weight.
the biggest side-effect is the fact that the vehicle will roll when in Park on any kind of grade. It will roll very slowly, but it will move.

 

[jbas123]

Haha ok, I'll just use the e brake or carry a brick around. Thanks for the advice, I'll let you know how it went after I do it tomorrow.

 

[jbas123]

Gavin, I took out the front driveshaft today and it went smooth. So as I was test driving it afterwards the shaking went away a lot, but there is still some, it seems to be coming from the rear. But when im on the gas it will shake a bit, but when I let the gas pedal up the car stops shaking right away. Any idea what that could be?

 

[gavin]

that's hard to say.
does the force of the shaking vary dependent on speed, or RPMs?

 

[jbas123]

Its a little of both. It will always shake a little except when I give it no gas. I've never replaced the rear wheel bearing, so could that possibly be it?

 

[gavin]

nah, if it were a wheel/axle shaft bearing, it would be consistent, and vary based on speed; but wouldn't almost completely stop when let off the gas.

but... u-joint maybe. Those can cause some vibes when they're going bad, and I have dealt with it myself where the vibes just about stop when coasting.

 

[jbas123]

Where is the u joint? Like I said before im new at being a self mechanic haha. And is that an easy and cheap fix?

 

[gavin]

the rear driveshaft will have 2 u-joints.
at the transmission output flange and at the rear diff yoke.

they're not terribly difficult to replace, but you do have to be careful that the roller bearings in the caps don't get misaligned when installing the new joints. It can be a time consuming process.