Little bit of play in the driveshaft. Is this the infamous "rear end clunk" ?
#1
Little bit of play in the driveshaft. Is this the infamous "rear end clunk" ?
I have a 99 super cab 4x4 3.0. I had the truck on the lift and I tried turning the rear driveshaft by hand in park. I would say that from lock to lock left to right I can turn the drive shaft about 1 inch. Is this causing the rear end clunk ? If so what is needed to fix it ? It doesn't clunk while coming to a stop any longer as I have heavily greased the slip yolk but under initial acceleration it will clunk and after about the 3 to 4mph into that acceleration if I hit the gas a bit harder it will clunk once again just not quite as hard. Any input is greatly appreciated.
#2
#5
I have a 99 super cab 4x4 3.0. I had the truck on the lift and I tried turning the rear driveshaft by hand in park. I would say that from lock to lock left to right I can turn the drive shaft about 1 inch. Is this causing the rear end clunk ? If so what is needed to fix it ? It doesn't clunk while coming to a stop any longer as I have heavily greased the slip yolk but under initial acceleration it will clunk and after about the 3 to 4mph into that acceleration if I hit the gas a bit harder it will clunk once again just not quite as hard. Any input is greatly appreciated.
Most people even after the greasing still get the clunk sometimes.
I know with my 06, even with greasing it, new u joints, and shifting good it would still do it on a few occasions; its just one of those things. Each vehicle has its little quirk.
Id just recommended greasing it good and make sure your u joints are good.
#7
Heres is the style my 06 had, I dont know if yours will look a little different as they used one and two piece shafts through the ranger years but the same concept applies. Even my 06 that was supposed to have the "upgraded" driveshaft to stop the clunk still clunked from time to time especially with a manual and big tires.
Find where the the boot is, and it will have a special clamp on it. If you dont have the proper tool to put another one, or that one back on you can just use a big strong zip tie or big circle clamp.
But you take the clamp off, pull back the rubber boot and you will see the splines you need to grease. Grease it up as good as you can and seal it back up.
(note: if you plan on taking the driveshaft apart and seperating it to really clean out the old grease, make sure you mark the splines so it goes back the way it came and stays balanced.
fyi greasing mine only helped temporarily, for my manual 06, the best thing to do was to just make sure I shift good and smooth, keep it greased, and make sure u joints are good and greased)
Last edited by 98liftedranger; 12-18-2012 at 05:40 PM.
#8
#9
Mine wasnt to bad being a 4x4 but I also didn't like to do mine on the ground and put all the force on the rearend and transmission.
So I would usually jack up the rear to give me more room and to put a big screwdriver or prybar between the driveshaft and truck to stop it from turning when loosening and tightening the bolts. Probably not needed but I like to be rather safe than sorry.
#10
I mean you dont have to drop the driveshft to do it. You can take the clamp and slide the boot back and fill it with new grease with it on the truck if you dont want to do all the work of taking it off and stuff.
Mine wasnt to bad being a 4x4 but I also didn't like to do mine on the ground and put all the force on the rearend and transmission.
So I would usually jack up the rear to give me more room and to put a big screwdriver or prybar between the driveshaft and truck to stop it from turning when loosening and tightening the bolts. Probably not needed but I like to be rather safe than sorry.
Mine wasnt to bad being a 4x4 but I also didn't like to do mine on the ground and put all the force on the rearend and transmission.
So I would usually jack up the rear to give me more room and to put a big screwdriver or prybar between the driveshaft and truck to stop it from turning when loosening and tightening the bolts. Probably not needed but I like to be rather safe than sorry.
#11
All you neeed to do is remove the metal band, pulback the boot, then with your fingers shove as much greese into the splines as you can, then spread a geneous glob all around the remaining spline area. Reset the boot with a circle clamp, and you will notice a difference. I uses a zip lock bag, filled it with greese like a cake decorators bag, cut a corner off it and controlled where I intially put the greese. A bit less messy, but wear gloves none the less.
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