By Ronald Brown (Ron) on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 10:58 am: Edit

Ok,

The POS is at it again. It makes the clunk, clunk, clunk, noise from the rear axle. Increases with speed. Started over the weekend, now really loud. Looked and did not see anything wrong on the rotors, brakes or in the wheel/tire. Stock open dif. It seems to be coming from the left rear side. I am thinking wheel bearing. How long is that bad boy going to take me to change if that is the cause? Anything I need to know? What else could it be and how would I know the difference? Also how long do I have before it goes boom (will it make it 10miles).

Thanks
Ron

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 11:06 am: Edit

Ron , now you know its anyones guess how far along it is. You could make it 2 thousand miles , or , just 2 . Its a clunk clunk? Wheels are tight? If its the bearings its a cake walk. Bearings you need are set 37 x2 per each wheel. You can get em at Napa pretty cheap.
Axle needs to come out , caliper support bolts removed (12mmx2) then its just the large lock nut and washer then preload nut. Any grease getting out around the seal? Might just be the outer...

Kyle

By Milan on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 11:11 am: Edit

To tell if it's the bearing, jack up that side and try to wiggle the wheel with your hands. You should place your hands opposite of each other (i.e. 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock positions) and then pry back with one and forth with the other. If there's any play, the bearings should be checked/replaced. You can check for noises by spinning the wheel. If there's any noise from the bearing, replace now. It's hard to tell how long you can go without seeing/hearing it. I was able to go for a week but in the end I fried everything (the bearing welded itself on the spindle and ruined the hub, rotor and the outer splines on the axleshaft as the bearing disintegrated and the wheel jammed itself into the brake - this was on a Bronco front).

Good luck. I hope it's just the bearings.

By Ron on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 12:55 pm: Edit

Ok,

I passed the wheel shake bearing test and nothing seemed loose. I really shook the heck out of everything I could find trailling arms, A frame, shocks. I found a bad shock bushing and replaced that but it did not help. Now I am thinking dif. I guess I am going to pull everything apart tonight and see if I can see anything with the wheel, but now I am thinking it might be dif. It really sounds like something is loose but I can't find what (probably did not help that I did not get to start on it until 9pm in a dark parking lot).

Cheers
Ron

PS I hate rubber shock bushings. Energy suspension poly all the way.

By Milan on Saturday, May 19, 2001 - 10:56 am: Edit

Like I said, it's tough to tell sometimes. It's even tougher over the Internet. It could be many things, I suppose. What happened when you rotated it? In any case, good luck and keep us informed.

My buddy just lost his rear diff. He thought it was the tranny when it actually happened. The noises get transmitted very oddly sometimes.

You're right on the polyurethane vs. rubber.