Front End Groaning Vibration from stop w/turn

[reserved50]

finally he removes the shaft : The fluid you put in the rear, does it have limited slip additive(depends if you have trak-loc or not). It can also cause the clutches in the rear diff to stick and slip around tight corners usually while accelerating, but you will feel it from the rear and not in the steering wheel

 

[EMBPilot]

The Amsoil synthetic i put in the rear, i added 4 oz of slip lock to it. okay heading out to the garage now to drop the front shaft. talk to you guys after the test drive.

 

[EMBPilot]

that was a lot easier than i thought. sorta scary that only 4 "screws" hold on the front part of the shaft...

heres how it went...
after getting it good and warmed up with a high way drive, the removal of the front drive shaft made NO difference?! but it no longer shakes the the truck like it used to. It defiantly sounds like its coming from behind me now.

what have we eliminated? is this pointing towards the rear limited slip clutches???

 

[reserved50]

converter/trans needs a fluid change?(fix for this is change trans fluid for Mercon V)<--not sure if it applies to these but F-150s etc had this problem. So if you crank the wheel full lock and drive slowly in a circle it will "chatter" and it is from the rear for sure? Im starting to run out of ideas short of me test driving it ha. If you have time drive to your local ford dealer and ask for someone to give it a testdrive, if they dont co-operate drive to another dealer...use a line like "im not sure if this is normal but can(shop foreman preferably ) someone go for a quick drive with me to see if this is normal ,try to avoid telling the service advisor that you tried to diagnose it yourself . Then to make them happy if they have any reccomendations buy whatever parts you need off them, hopefully its minor stuff like fluid etc...anyone else have any ideas?

 

[EMBPilot]

i did just that...
- changed fluid in xfer case with new Mercon
- took the local Dealership shop forman for a quick drive in the parking lot
(just now got back) i told him the front drive shaft was out as well.

he advised... "its the rear", maybe add another 4 oz of Slip Lock to the amsoil (i already put 4 in there) then give it 500 miles to "break in". or have us rebuild the rear, but theres no telling where that could go... ie. this bearing looks a little worn, needs new clutches ect

gist was keep driving it.

so he wasnt too helpful. i'll try to put in another bottle of amsoil slip lock in there. The only thing i could think of now would be to look for a rear from a junk yard

the truck does DRIVE fine. just that, once its warm, theres clearly something wrong when you make slow tight turns. the foreman called it "Chatter"

 

[MountaineerGreen]

Thats sounding more and more like a LS unit gone bad- at least you ruled out the DS. I do have a LS unit I just pulled out of my truck if you need one. It may be easier/cheaper to get a whole axle, just depends on your yard.

 

[reserved50]

yea I didnt want to hint the limited slip because you said no change i believe when you tried that, so I just asked if you had additive in there. I have changed rear gears and not added any modifier in there, whoops (they wanted it to hook haha),so after they got annoyed with the clutches bascially "creaking/groaning" away I added a bottle of modifier and took one guy about 100 kms to let it work in. If you do notice it getting quieter but doesnt go away after about 500kms, maybe change out the limited slip clutch packs.

I meant change transmission fluid to Mercon V,if you need the limited slip redone I would ask around how much to change clutch packs at different shops, if you dont hear any noises like gear whine or rumbling, bearings are ok, clutches are about 100$ in parts

 

[KodiakSeller]

Hi, I have a 2004 XLT. It has the same symptoms as you describe. From a stop, turning into a parking lot, there is a vibration/humming. I've been to the dealership twice and have had the tranny oil changed which did not help. They finally ended up changing the rear clutch pack which solved the problem (for 2 months). I just got the truck back last week after a second rear clutch pack change, and it's working ok. I'm holding my breath beacuse I'm sure it will start again.

Also, when they changed the rear clutch pack, they noticed some leaky seal and bad bearings. Just what I wanted to hear. All was replaced. Luckily I had the extended warranty which covered $800. Leaving me with a mere $1400 to pay out of pocket on a 2-1/2 year old vehicle with 65,000 miles on it.

 

[EMBPilot]

WHOA Kodiak!

just an update, the noise is actually getting a little better as im driving the car, with the new fluid in the rear. Depending on how this goes, after this tank of gas i'll add another 4oz of sliploc and report back. Thanks for the help guys!!

Edit----
its now march 23rd, put another 300 or so miles on the explorer, the noise has almost completely gone away from the rear. I guess the rear clutches needed new fluid with the slip loc additive. there is still a very light noise but its been reduced by at least 80-90%. if im bored one day, i may add another 4oz of amsoil slip loc to it, i have a hunch that will take care of the rest.
----EDIT----
its no fun reading threads with no solutions so heres to wrapping this one up for good. Its may 7th, ive put over 3500 miles on the rear since i changed the fluids and i did not end up needing to add additional slip loc. the rear just needed time to work in, and it took every bit of 500 miles to do it. The rear no longer makes ANY noises.

Hope this thread can help others, good luck!!

 

[gap32514]

I had the same problem on a F150. Had a leaking axle seal and drained fluid to change seal and afterwards refilled with new Motorcraft gear lube. Starting noticing the same shuddering sound/vibration sometime later. Replaced rotors and brakes with no luck. Talked to local dealership shop manager and he gives me a 8 oz botte of friction modifier. I put it in the rear gear and within 300 miles it was like magic, no noise or vibration. So even the
Motorcraft lube must not have friction modifier added.