Help clunking noise.

[whyme1985]

So as the title says, I have a clunking noise at low speed 20 and under. So I pulled in to get an oil change and the tech heard the noise and did some investigating on his own and came up and told me something that holds the front driveshaft in, is going bad and that is what is causing the repeated clunking. He said if it completely breaks I will lose my 4 wheel drive. He told me what the bad part was but I forgot. If this sounds familiar to anybody please help me out thanks a lot in advance. I have a 2005 v6 auto 4x4.

 

[obie]

It could be a u-joint to the front axle or a cv joint off the transfer case. U-Joints are pretty cheap to replace, and don't take very long. If the CV is bad, a rebuild kit alone is anywhere from $200 to $300 and takes a little while longer. Are you wanting help replacing it? I'm not sure what your question is here.

 

[whyme1985]

Sorry yeah I'm wanting to fix it. Just need to know what to look for and where they are located. Also how to tell which is the culprit. thanks

 

[obie]

That depends. If its athe CV joint, you might as well replace the whole driveshaft, as you can oftentimes find the entire assembly for about the same price as a cv rebuild.

If you want to test it yourself, you'll need a jack and four jackstands. Never work on a vehicle supported by just a jack. And never use cinderblocks. That's a recipe to get yourself killed. Once you have the vehicle lifted and on jackstands, carefully put the transmission into neutral. Then spin the front driveshaft by hand and try to listen or feel for the clunking.

If you can narrow it down to just the front u-joint, you could get by with replacing that. For the money though, it'd just be easier to have a mechanic do it. Without having a u-joint/balljoint press or a good stout vise, you're probably in for a crappy time. Rust belt u-joints can be notoriously difficult without the right tools.

If you do want to replace it yourself, I can give you some more tips.

 

[whyme1985]

Well I would like to do it myself if i can I mean if i don't have the right tools for the job then ghag might be a problem, its about to snow here in chicago and I would hate to lose my 4x4 and cant afford a mechanic LOL

 

[obie]

Well, it could turn into a far worse problem than losing your 4WD. If a joint fails badly enough to shear and cause driveshaft seperation, the shaft could fall and basically become a pole vault for your truck. In the best case scenario, its just a boatload of mechanical damage. In the worst case, you wreck your vehicle. So driveshaft problems should always be fixed asap. Have you been able to determine if its the front u-joint or rear CV joint yet? You could always call that shop back and ask them what they said, it should be document on the work order.

 

[XplorerRayskee]

Im looking for a bolt spring that holds up my rear diff and drive shaft. It makes a clucking noise when shifting from Park to Reverse or Drive. This sounds kinda simular.