4x4.. reacurring problem

[NeXtras]

hey guys.. very pissed off... i THINK my wheel bearing issue is coming back to haunt me again.. driving hometoday and had to use 4x4.. noticed that wen i turn i get a grinding noise.. also a shake in the steering.. im wondering.. is this a wheel bearing thing or a u joint thing.. im hoping u joint cause its only when i turn and its on the same side i had the wheel bearing issue on... same kind of noise too... considering u joints and the bearings are similar in the fact that they grind cause of the pins..

any expert advise?? god help me..

 

[surewhynot]

Without jacking up that tire and seeing if there is play in it, it's hard to tell for sure, but I'm leaning towards u joint.

 

[Brian_B]

I had a (factory) manual hub on my old ranger that would make a horrible grinding noise when I turned it to one side. It caused some sort of weird vibration too. Like it was locking..then slipping..and locking again really fast.

Just a guess as to what it was really doing, but I stole a hub from from one of our old parts rangers and that fixed it.

 

[blacksnapon]

What strikes me is you didn't have this issue in 2 wheel. Remember, theres axle clips that prevent the axle from pulling out of the lockout when turning. If you have a wheel bearing problem, it will be there weather you are in 4x4 or 2 wheel. If you have only one lockout working, there can be vibrations and/or grinding. I'd start by verifying both lockouts are working properly.

 

[NeXtras]

just took it for a spin in 2x4.. no noise no vibration.. most likely the u joint.. i know last year it did it no matter what it was in.. just has the same sound.. im worin at the shop in the morning.. ill put it up in the air then

 

[Skandocious]

I'm thinking either a lockout or a u-joint. I'm leaning more towards a u-joint since turning is what binds the front u-joints when in 4wd. But it could very easily be a lockout too.

Bearings seems unlikely since you don't get the noise in 2wd

 

[flareside_thunder]

are those autos or manuals?

 

[NeXtras]

WARN manual hubs.. put em in last year.. jacked up the side making noise, lock does lock to the axel and does spin it.. wheel has no play in it so bearing is still good.. looks like im gunna ripping the fron end apart AGAIN to replace the u joints.. probably should do both sides while im at it..

 

[Lost]

Good luck . Not a bad job . I'd say u jiont my self.

 

[95F350XL]

Turn the wheel and spin it. If not put it up on the lift at work, and run in it 4x4 and turn it. Have someone with a stethoscope or a good ear and see where its commin from.

 

[NeXtras]

i know where its coming from.. lol

 

[Skandocious]

And......?

 

[NeXtras]

front knuckle.. only makes the noise when turning and hub locked.. hub IS locking.

 

[Truckin4life]

Glad to hear you figured it out! :thumbsup

 

[NeXtras]

ok guys... i didnt replace anything.. we had snow sunday morning here so i uses 4X4... was noisy.. on my way home, i noticed it wasnt making noise, and the axel was definetly engaged... hmm... think i did damage, or do u think the white lith grese i sprayed around the knuckle sunk in??

 

[conanski]

You put a bandaid on it, the grease may help in the short term but the U-joint is still finished. When these things dry out they get tight first but will loosen up again with a little use. But it's all downhill from these as the bearings self destruct and eventually fall out leaving the joint loose and clunking. Put greasable joints in when you do the job and they'll be good for the life of the vehicle.

 

[Skandocious]

You put a bandaid on it, the grease may help in the short term but the U-joint is still finished. When these things dry out they get tight first but will loosen up again with a little use. But it's all downhill from these as the bearings self destruct and eventually fall out leaving the joint loose and clunking. Put greasable joints in when you do the job and they'll be good for the life of the vehicle.

Good post but I have to disagree about using greaseable joints... I've been told that non-greaseables are better for the fact that they seal the grease in better because the greaseables are designed to burp excess grease past the seals.

I figured I might as well get an expert opinion, so when I went to buy my driveshaft u-joints from a very reputable driveline shop in Sac (Drive Line Service of Sacramento, www.drive-lines.com), I noticed that the non-greaseables cost more than the greaseables (talking about Spicer joints here). So I asked the guy about it. He said almost exactly the same thing that I had heard before, verbatim. Non-greaseables cost more because they're designed to better seal in the grease and thus last LONGER. If you can grease your u-joints often enough to make sure that there's ALWAYS grease in them (read-- EVERY COUPLE WEEKS) then non-greaseable should be fine... But I ran greaseables on my rear driveshaft for a little while and found that ever time I went underneath to do work, there was more and more grease slung all over the underside of my bed Greaseables DO NOT SEAL IN THE GREASE.

Stick with non-greaseables-- that's what the driveline shop told me

 

[conanski]

I think on the rear driveshaft you have a valid point, but considering how little 4x4 use some of these trucks get greasable joints on the front drive assembly are the better choice. I have never had to replace a front U-joint again on any of my trucks after installing the greasables.

 

[Skandocious]

Fair enough... I'd still use non-greaseables on the front axle (and everywhere else for that matter). But that's just me

 

[NeXtras]

greasable can be bad too.. just luck of the draw.. i had a greeseable one on my driveshaft.. one of the greese chanells plugged up so one cup didnt get grese,, all the pins were ground up.... hmm, gkad this is a temp fix anyways