Trip Report and Diagnostic Help
- Thread starter ewillis
- Start date
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- Thread starter
- #23
Yes! This is exactly the sound mine is making and I still can't figure it out. My bearings look good, knuckle is full of grease, spindle looks fine, and axle splines look good. I thought @george_tlc was on to something with the drive flange, but it looks perfect too. @ntxcruisin...did you ever figure out WTF the issue is?
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I took to the shop and they took it out and engaged the lockers and drove it and it has not made the noise since. So I think it had something to do with the differential. But am not sure
Did you check the diff oil level?
I had the same thing on mine after fully rebuilding the front end. It was the spindle bushings not getting greased well. Instead of disassembling to get to them and not wanting to pay the $50 to one of the more used 80 series parts suppliers on here for the spindle bushing grease attachment that goes over the end of the axle with a grease zerk. I went to Carquest and bought the needle greaser. Not the big metal needle, but the hypodermic looking one with a zerk on the end. This coupled with the straw from a brakleen can or something similar does the trick!! You have to take off the dust cap and the c-clip on the axle as well as the drive flange. Then slide the straw needle extension that you have now mounted to a hand grease gun and you can feed the straw down the sides of the axle until you feel it hit the ABS ring or the birf back if you don't have the newer birfs. you can push the axle to one side or the other by hand and feed grease all around it. Repeat on the other side and problem solved. This all works as long as you haven't lunched your spindle bushings. If they are in good to decent shape then mission accomplished. If not then you have to tear down and swap them. They aren't very expensive though.
Hope this helps!
Hope this helps!
The videos above from ntxcruisin is the noise i had. And my fix detailed above took care of it for me.
- Thread starter
- #28
I was hoping to not have to take the spindles back off, but it's definitely not the bearings. As @Hinterland and others have stated, it's likely the spindle bushings lacking lube. I was having trouble visualizing how it could be anything but the drive flanges or bearings, but the axle splines dry humping the inside of the spindle is exactly what would make this horrific groan!
