Front end sound?

[Tars]

I have a rumbling/thumping sound coming from the front half of my 92. Here is a quick run down on what has been done so we can eliminate them. New upper and lower ball joints, 2 new axle joints(ones in the knuckles), manual hubs, new rear driveshaft u-joint, new right side wheel bearings. The front axle was looked at.
Ok now about the problem. The sound is only there with the hubs locked, in 4x4 or not, just with the hubs locked. They are manual hubs. The sound seems to come on and off at speeds greater than 50mph. And seems to be on the drivers side. Every now and then I hear another sound, a clunk(like the sound my old auto hubs made when they didn't dissengage all the way), a very faint clunk. Along with the rumbling sound there is a vibration that comes and goes with the sound. I want to say it is in the front axle, but I am not sure. Sometime the vibration is pretty bad, enough to make my steering wheel jump, the sound is also very loud when the vibration is bad. Other times the sound/vibration is just kind of there, not really loud. It doesn't matter what kind of road I am on or if I am on the gas or off, turning or going straight it is just there. Living in northern Michigan I would rather be able to drive around with my hubs locked in case I need 4x4, its just a push of the button away. The sound is driving me crazy, I just want to know what it is and get it fixed. The front driveshaft u-joints were checked by a ford dealer and they said they were good. The wheel bearings on the drivers side seem to be good, the wheel is not loose. Fluid in the front axle and transfer case are both full. The sound is not road noise, it is another sound on top of the road noise from my tires.
When the sound/vibration is bad it sounds like a thumping, when it is not so bad it is more of a rumbling. At first I thought it was my front axle, but now I really do not know, I'm lost and getting very frustrated with it.

Anyone with any ideas please let me know. I'm sick of dealing with it, that new Dodge is starting to look more attractive. I don't want to get rid of the Exploder yet, she has been too good of a truck to me, except for this one naggin problem, but I am getting very tired of trying to fix it only to have it come back. Once again any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Edited by Tars on 01-21-2001 at 02:03 PM]

 

[Tars]

Anyone...anyone have any ideas? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Tars]

Well I was under my truck today trying to figure this thing out. Maybe some of this well shed some light on my problem. There seems to be a binding in the front axle. If I turn the axle by hand, at one of the alxe joints, the axle turns for a little bit then binds up. But if I turn the axle by the driveshaft it is ok. I locked the drivers side hub and turned the driveshaft again, everything spun fine. Then I locked the passenger side hub and turned the driveshaft again, turned for a bit then it felt like it was binding again. All of this was done with all four wheels on the ground. Anyway if anyone has run into this PLEASE let me know what you found, I'm at a dead end. If I cant figure it out it goes to the mechanic, and I don't want to break the bank to fix it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tars]

Well it is now getting worse. Just got back from two trips towing a trailer. The noise/vibration is much worse and starts now at about 35mph.

[Edited by Tars on 01-29-2001 at 05:35 PM]

 

[mrboyle]

Have you tried removing the front drive shaft and seeing if the vibration/noise goes away? If not do so. This will determine if the problem is in the axle or the drive shaft. Personally I am leaning toward a driveshaft that is out of ballance, but try what I suggested and see what happens.

 

[Tars]

Thanks I'll try that. Just a question though, if the driveshaft was out of balance, why would there be a binding in the axle? If I spin the axle by the driveshaft by hand everything spins freely, if I spin the axle be either axle shaft there is a binding? I was just wondering. But I'll try what you said and see what happens. Thanks

 

[zagbag]

Thump!

I doubt this is the problem and I don't have any experience with the 4WD models but our '92 XLT and lots of others have the radius arm bushings go out. This creates a pretty loud thump and some vibration. Usually it's the passenger side first due to the proximity to the catylitic converter but you might check it out anyway. Visually they are hard to see that they are bad but I found that wrapping them in duct tape will alter the noise enough to realize that is where the problem is. Mine cost $350 for both sides and allignment. Good luck.