2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission what's wrong with my rear end?

[-gtsm-]

When my truck (see sig. )accelerates from a stop the pinion seems to rotate up causing a clunk that can be felt more than heard. The whole axle housing seems to rotate like it's not being located properly by the leaf springs,I have checked out the axle for any trouble with gears etc. (its fine)I have tried to determine if any bushings on the springs or shocks are worn out but everything looks fine(I have not taken it apart though) all bolts seem to ,be tight and I cannot see anything obvious that would cause this,I realize that there should be some change in pinion angle upon acceleration but it should not be something that you can feel while driving. Any ideas?thx Rich

 

[n7gxz]

Have you checked your U-joints and center bearing?



Kevin

 

[Midnite]

My '92 had a carrier bearing that went out (crappy shop that replaced it didn't grease it upon install), and it acted like you describe. Does the clunk go away above a certain speed?



Mike

 

[DavidC]

It has a crack and the drain plug is missing. Sorry I just couldn't resist



On the serious side check the carrier bearing like Kevin said.



Dave

 

[-gtsm-]

I can't feel any slop in the driveshaft when I try to rotate it or shake it around... noise is only one clunk that you can feel right after truck starts to roll , it does not do it at speed... Nice one David Keep the suggestions coming I'm on my way out of town but will try to get to the "Bottom" of it after I get back.

 

[NIsaacs]

Sounds like a bad u-joint, usually the rear most one.





"NICK"

 

[DESL PWR]

Is the clunk more prominent during straight line starts or turning from a stop? How about when slowing down then accelerating again to try to wrap up the axle? I could feel this pop or clunk during turns from a stop and the fix was new fluid with friction modifier. Seems the clunk was the limited slip clutch plates breaking free.

 

[PSchwering]

I Vote universal Joint. Take the two straps off of the rear differential, pop the driveshaft out of the rear end & see if everything feels OK. (make sure you set the E-brake, or block the wheels ) My truck was doing that. When I took the driveshaft loose, one side of the rear U-joint was locked up tight. Pretty obvious when you get it apart. P.

 

[RJPotts]

I'm going to say most likely axle wrap, especially with the 19. 5's. If this is the case then U-joints are probably in need of some attention too.

I'm thinking its wrapping though.

-R. J.

 

[CTrum]

I have the same issue and have not been able to track the problem down, not that I have be diligent.

 

[ISBPilot]

Same boat.............

Describes mine to a T. Am planning on new u-joints and carrier bearing, just haven't got there yet. At 257,000 I should have got my moneys worth out of the original ones... ... ... ... ..... :-laf :-laf :-laf



Todd

 

[-gtsm-]

O. K. guys thx for the suggestions,I just got back from offshore(i'm a diver and i'm fixin' oil rigs)today I popped the driveshaft off and the u-joints are fine ,also My truck has no carrier bearing... its a single piece shaft. As far as friction in the plates of the trac loc,I don't think so , it does it in a straight line and my fluid was just changed to amsoil synthetic w/friction modifier. Now back to axle wrap... what could be causing this? everything looks o. k. could it be worn out shocks? They look o. k. but have been workin overtime with the big tires. At this point I wish the damn thing would just break so I could fix it... I can't fix it if I don't know what to fix!

 

[Coalsmoke]

My truck does the same thing. My U joints are fine and I have no carrier bearing to worry about. I am at about 10,500lbs (all the time) right now and it is more pronounced than when I used to be an empty pick-up. I am a bit worried, but the clunk hasn't gotten any worse over the last 6 months, its just there. The weird thing about it is that it is NOT a simple clunk at the very beginning of when you start rolling, like say if you had slack in your driveline and the slop clunked when you started to take your foot off the clutch and the slop was taken up. Instead, at least with my truck, it is once I roll a foot or two that I get the clunk, like its delayed by about 1/2 - 1 second, and happens EVERY time. My truck has 375,000kms on the odo if that helps at all.

 

[TRCM]

the splined part of the d/s develops a wear ridge inside the splines. the shaft on the trans or tcase output also develops this wear ridge. When you take off or stop quickly, or if there is a lot of axle wrap, these two ridges ride over each other, and make a small clunk. But, that small clunk is amplified thru the d/s, enough to be heard.



It may take some movement to develop enough force to make the ridges slide across each other, hence the slight delay some are experiencing.





it is very common on 2 piece d/s on older trucks. you can check to see if this is it by pulling the d/s, and greasing the splines. the clunk should go away for a few weeks, then come back as the grease gets moved.



My old ramcharger did it every time you moved until I put in a new custom rear d/s.

 

[Coalsmoke]

so in other words its annoying but nothing much to worry about yet.

 

[BDeArmon]

You hope.



Verify the problem before making that assumption. Better to know the truth than to bank on an assumption and have it bite you in the ***** later.

 

[steved]

the splined part of the d/s develops a wear ridge inside the splines. the shaft on the trans or tcase output also develops this wear ridge. When you take off or stop quickly, or if there is a lot of axle wrap, these two ridges ride over each other, and make a small clunk. But, that small clunk is amplified thru the d/s, enough to be heard.



It may take some movement to develop enough force to make the ridges slide across each other, hence the slight delay some are experiencing.





it is very common on 2 piece d/s on older trucks. you can check to see if this is it by pulling the d/s, and greasing the splines. the clunk should go away for a few weeks, then come back as the grease gets moved.



My old ramcharger did it every time you moved until I put in a new custom rear d/s.

Agreed... this is most likely your problem... did you happen to check the springs for a broken one??



Nothing rollling around in the bed is there :-laf



steved

 

[Coalsmoke]

no broken springs and no bed on my truck, but that is exactly what it sounds like, like a big old frozen watermelon going thud. I to was thinking it was related to teh spring hangers and not teh driveshaft, i was thinking that there was maybe slop in the hangers and it was causing the axle to shift a bit

I will do some more checking into it later today to see for sure if it is drivetrain related or suspension related. Good point BD, don't want ot be left stranded.

 

[PPeterson]

"it does it in a straight line and my fluid was just changed to amsoil synthetic w/friction modifier. Now back to axle wrap... "



What was the last thing that occurred before the problem manifested itself? Could it be that this is the first Amsoil synthetic used? That might be the problem. If so, maybe the synthetic w/friction modifier is involved--the limited slip might now "bind up" for a moment and then let go.

 

[HPetrat]

Those jeans make it look fat :-laf :-laf



Check the pinion gear and re torque the pinion nut.



HP