True or False Question, and issue with my 'Splorer!

[hednupnorth]

Ok, Vitals...

I own a '97 Ford Explorer 5.0, AWD.....

First Question: True or False? One can replace the U-Joint in the Front Drive Shaft of my 'Splorer.'


Second issue: My Truck has been making some noises and there was a 'wobble' in the brake pedal when I applied it. I went right for the Rotors. I replaced both front rotors. The wobble is gone, but the noise continued. I double checked the brakes, calipers, and rotor. All is good! So, I narrow it down to U-Joints.

SIDE NOTE: Because my front drive shaft was making noise, I removed it this past Summer, and have been running it that way til recently when I had planned to get a new U-Joint for the FRONT PROP Shaft, in preparation for the winter.

I purchased a new U-Joint for my rear drive shaft, AND my front Drive Shaft, planning to install it today, before school. THis AM, while returning from hunting, I was backing out of a field and wasn't going anywhere. Thinking I was stuck, I pulled forward..without an issue..put it into reverse...going nowhere. HMMM...So, I pulled farther ahead to get some more steam...still nothing..I looked back, and saw my rear driver side tire spinning..Hmm. So, I drive ahead, did a big U Turn, and drove out. I stopped on the road, put it into reverse, and it won't budge going backward. So..I drove home. PArked it on the road, put the truck into Neutral. I can push it forward, but when I try to push it backwards, it wont budge. I removed the rear drive shaft and nothing has changed. I push it forward, but can push it backward. I plan on hitting it again tomorrow, checking the front tires..inparticular, the front calipers.

Again, I have both drive shafts out, so I'm thinking it should roll without issue.

Thanks for your feed back on both questions!

 

[nssj2]

1) Yes, the front joint is replaceable. the joint by the t-case is a cv joint, and is non-serviceable. They commonly fail, and the whole shaft will need to be replaced. Some driveline shops will rebuild them.

2) careful, your truck will "creep" when in park with no front driveshaft. sounds like the cv joint on the driveshaft is going.

NO idea on that last one, so heres a bump for ya lol

 

[hednupnorth]

1) Yes, the front joint is replaceable. the joint by the t-case is a cv joint, and is non-serviceable. They commonly fail, and the whole shaft will need to be replaced. Some driveline shops will rebuild them.

Hey Nssj2, I'm kinda' confused, BUT to clarify....I CAN NOT replace the U-Joint in my Prop Shaft (The front drive shaft that gives me my AWD) as it is a CV Joint, therefore I would need to replace the entire Prop Shaft, BUT I CAN replace the front U-Joint in my rear drive shaft? I'm assuming if necessary, I can replace both the front and back U-Joint of my Rear Drive Shaft?


Regarding my other issue, (one/both? of the front wheels seems to lock up when I put it in reverse, but the rear tires turn and operate fine under load)
one thing I did forget to mention was Monday night and Tuesday AM, I began to notice a slight but noticable sound (clicking or Tap? which seems to be coming from the front passenger side)when I began to apply the brakes. I plan on putting the truck up on a jack, removing the tires, and checking the brakes n' calipers, and trying to turn the front wheels independantly, and see what takes place. Friends (two with mechanic experience) have suggested it might be a front hub, which I have experience with and have replaced both within the past 4 years. I had the driverside hub replaced last year. I also thought if it were a hub, it would have problems going both ways, perhaps.


THanks, it is greatly appreciated.

 

[JoeMahma]

1) Yes, the front joint is replaceable. the joint by the t-case is a cv joint, and is non-serviceable. They commonly fail, and the whole shaft will need to be replaced. Some driveline shops will rebuild them.

Hey Nssj2, I'm kinda' confused, BUT to clarify....I CAN NOT replace the U-Joint in my Prop Shaft (The front drive shaft that gives me my AWD) as it is a CV Joint, therefore I would need to replace the entire Prop Shaft, BUT I CAN replace the front U-Joint in my rear drive shaft? I'm assuming if necessary, I can replace both the front and back U-Joint of my Rear Drive Shaft?


Regarding my other issue, (one/both? of the front wheels seems to lock up when I put it in reverse, but the rear tires turn and operate fine under load)
one thing I did forget to mention was Monday night and Tuesday AM, I began to notice a slight but noticable sound (clicking or Tap? which seems to be coming from the front passenger side)when I began to apply the brakes. I plan on putting the truck up on a jack, removing the tires, and checking the brakes n' calipers, and trying to turn the front wheels independantly, and see what takes place. Friends (two with mechanic experience) have suggested it might be a front hub, which I have experience with and have replaced both within the past 4 years. I had the driverside hub replaced last year. I also thought if it were a hub, it would have problems going both ways, perhaps.


THanks, it is greatly appreciated.

The front drive shaft in your truck has two ends. The end that connects to your front differential has the typical u joint which can be replaced. The end of the front driveshaft that connects to the transfer case has a CV type joint that is not serviceable. Both u joints in the rear drive shaft are the typical type and can be replaced.

 

[gijoecam]

The front drive shaft in your truck has two ends. The end that connects to your front differential has the typical u joint which can be replaced. The end of the front driveshaft that connects to the transfer case has a CV type joint that is not serviceable. Both u joints in the rear drive shaft are the typical type and can be replaced.

Ditto. The FRONT joint on the FRONT shaft can be replaced. The REAR joint on the FRONT shaft cannot.

Both joints on the rear shaft can be replaced.

As for issue number three, my money would be on the parking brakes. I suspect one of the shoes broke loose and fell against the drum. It rolls in forward, but wedges up-tight in reverse. That's where I'd put my money.

-Joe

 

[Four0Sport]

you almost might want to check the caliper bracket mounting bolts. the bolts that mount the whoel caliper assembly to the spindle. i have had 2 vehicles where the bolts would work themselves out, repeatedly. in my sisters 96 both of thebolts on the driver side worked themselves out and when you put the truck into reverse it would shift the caliper backwards agaisnt the inside of the wheel and wedge itself making it hard to move the vehicle. when you drop it in drive the caliper shifts forward and just clicks when you would apply the brake. M12x1.75 bolts hold it in, i used blue loctite and a lock washer, they havnt budged back out. hope this helps.

 

[hednupnorth]

update...

ok, well yesterday, I crawled under by S'plorer and looked at the caliper from inside.......at least it was something simple AND I double checked all my bolt before I put the tire back on last week. Whatever. Interesing thing is that this is the second time I've had this happend with my truck. I pulled the tire off, made a phone call to a local salvage yard and got the bolt. Problem #1 Solved.

Ok, so I replaced ALL my U-joints..the two off the rear drive shaft and the one off the front 'Prop Shaft' for my AWD. I got the rear drive shaft on last night, took, it for a ride and it still made a sound ('WOOP-WOOP-WOOP-WOOP") consistant with speed, with a slight vibration. I thought perhaps I put the drive shaft back in incorrectly. So, this morning, I marked what areas NOT to put together with paint. While the paint was drying, I put in my PROP SHAFT FOR MY AWD with the new U-Joint. When I put it in reverse, it made a singular "pop" upfront when I started backwards. I went backwards about 10 feet, stopped, then shifted into Drive. It made another "pop" up front intially when I started forward about another 10 ft. I stopped, put it into reverse, "pop" rolled backwards 10 feet, stopped, I put it in Drive, and it went "pop" again as I went forward. I am hoping this "pop" I am hearing is because I put the Prop shaft in the wrong way. When I removed the prop shaft, the pop sound went away. I fear it's something worse..and that sucks because I'm a poor college student. I marked areas NOT to have matching on the prop shaft and removed it.

I then removed the rear drive shaft, and put it back in, making sure not to match the areas I had just marked. Once again I took it for a ride, and it continues to make the same 'WOOP-WOOP-WOOP" sound. , so I'm ruling out a U-Joint issue. The sound seems to be coming from the driver side area, BUT, I've heard it there before, and it was a prop shaft issue. As mentioned before I had a brand new hub put in slightly over a year ago. I replaced the rotor about a week ago, and the caliper is fine.

 

[nssj2]

im almost willing to say that sounds like a bad cv. check the boots to make sure they're not ripped.

 

[hednupnorth]

im almost willing to say that sounds like a bad cv. check the boots to make sure they're not ripped.

WHile I didn't remove the tires, I did crawl under the truck and check both boots from inside the tire well. Both boots appear intact. Matter of fact, I replaced one within the past 2 years...Driver side, if I remember correctly.

OVer all, I'm not very experienced mechanic but because of the location of the sound, and 'pop' I got up front when I put my prop shaft in, I'm afraid it might be in the front differential, maybe. Hoping it's something else...something cheaper and that I can work on myself.

 

[hednupnorth]

ok....an update....I jacked up the truck, spun the tire forward and backward, on the driver side, where the noise is coming from, and it rolls fine..no visible wobble, no major sounds, although according to my girlfriend's ex-husband (a former mechanic) he said he thought it DID makes some kind of bearing sound. Again, I said that I had the hub replaced about a year and a half ago by a professional mechanic. He inspected the CV Joint there and agreed with me that it looked fine, the boot was good, and there wasn't any major play in it. I also told him it didn't make any 'crackling-crunching sounds' when turning or going forward. I showed him the brake pads on the drive side, noting the outside pad has worn down faster thant the inside one, but he felt it wasn't really unusual. I also showed him some wear I noted on the new rotors I put in about two weeks ago. The outside is fine, but the inside of the the rotor already has some small grooves in it. I showed him my old rotors I still had, and the wear is pretty much the same. He also felt it wasn't a big deal. He suggested I check the frontend differential and make sure the lubricant level was adaquate. Upon removing the plug and sticking my finger in, I got nothing on my finger. I went to Autozone and picked up some gear lube..75W-140 as suggested by the Haynes book and hurried home. I put enough in , to the point where it began to leak out the plug. I wiped it clearn, put the plug in, backed out the driveway, and took a long ride around the neighborhood..... ...still the same 'WOOP-WOOP-WOOP-WOOP' that is consistant with vehicle speed. Sounds like it might be getting worse. I DID drop it into neutral while driving, and the noise continued. The only thing I can think of is that maybe I got a bad hub, when it was put in? I'm going to go get a floor jack and see if it's something simple...like change the tires around, and see if it's the tire itself. I'm beginning to think it's beyond me and might have to take it in...but can't afford it. IT should be noted, I still do not have the front drive shaft in.

 

[hednupnorth]

sigh..switched tires...went for a ride,..same results..still making sound.

While running back the floor jack I was using, I noticed a 'clunk' when I was braking. I did it several times, and it consistantly 'clunked.' I had an idea of what it was, got home, jacked it up on the passanger side,...sure enough, that bolt I picked up from the salvage yard had worked it's way out a got 1/4 of an inch!!! I had previously made sure that bolt (which had worked it's way out last week) was in good n' tight. I'm wondering if the 'woop-woop-woop' and slight vibration isn't working it out?

I am at a loss for the 'woop-woop-woop' sound issue. I am wondering if it isn't an issue in the rear end? My girlfreind has been suggesting this for the past few days or so. Might look there tomorrow afternoon. He suggested I jack the rear end up, and try to run it, and see if the sound goes away. This is driving me crazy!!