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70 Posts
Hey everyone!
I will apologize now for the novel but I need your help! I have a list of issues that I would like to get everyone’s advice on. There’s a simplified list of the questions at the bottom if you want to skip to that but in this section explains each question. I will start off with my first problem. Whenever I turn and lock my steering wheel from left or right while driving at low speeds, I hear a clunking noise almost as if my wheel is going to fall off. About 6 months ago I replaced the tie rod end because I was having similar sounds and that fixed the problem. I figured it was a bearing issue but when I talked to NAPA, they said that the month and year of my truck requires a whole new hub assembly (my truck was made in 09/2004). I took my driver’s side tire off and leaned over the side and tried to see if I had play in that U-joint that’s connects the 4WD to the front and I have a lot of play there (I did the same to the passenger’s side and the same type of play if not more). Also as a side note, when the tire is jacked up, there is NO play in the wheel at all if you push on the top of the tire. So there’s that. Next, my truck dies whenever I hit bumps. There not your normal cracks in the road but not like a bottomless pot hole. This concerns me because I was getting on the highway and hit a bump at 35-40mph and my truck died as I was turning (lost power steering), kind of scary but not too bad. Almost done here, I have 2 more short questions to go. I have substantial play in my steering wheel and I think it has a LOT to do with the steering gearbox. Could I be wrong? I doubt it would have anything to do with the hubs/bearing, or whatever it might be with the clunking. When I look through the driver’s side wheel well at the gear box, it looks caked in oil. Is there an easy way to tell if the whole things bad or if it’s just a seal? Last one. I have to replace my rear end ABS sensor that plugs in the rear diff. Is there anything I should know about before I replace it? Any expected issues or tricks to replace it? I have to get these items fixed because I am about to move 1600 miles and my truck and I am driving together. PLEASE HELP! Here is the recap of the questions above:
-How can I tell if I need to replace my entire hub assembly or jus t the bearing for the clunking noise?
-If it was the hub assembly or bearings, would that cause a lot of play in that u-joint? (Here’s a YouTube video that’s SIMILAR to the play I have:
)
-Would the steering gearbox have anything or everything to do with the amount of play in my steering wheel? And is there a way to tell if the entire G/B is bad or just a bad seal?
-Is there anything special I should know before I tear into the rear diff ABS sensor?
I will apologize now for the novel but I need your help! I have a list of issues that I would like to get everyone’s advice on. There’s a simplified list of the questions at the bottom if you want to skip to that but in this section explains each question. I will start off with my first problem. Whenever I turn and lock my steering wheel from left or right while driving at low speeds, I hear a clunking noise almost as if my wheel is going to fall off. About 6 months ago I replaced the tie rod end because I was having similar sounds and that fixed the problem. I figured it was a bearing issue but when I talked to NAPA, they said that the month and year of my truck requires a whole new hub assembly (my truck was made in 09/2004). I took my driver’s side tire off and leaned over the side and tried to see if I had play in that U-joint that’s connects the 4WD to the front and I have a lot of play there (I did the same to the passenger’s side and the same type of play if not more). Also as a side note, when the tire is jacked up, there is NO play in the wheel at all if you push on the top of the tire. So there’s that. Next, my truck dies whenever I hit bumps. There not your normal cracks in the road but not like a bottomless pot hole. This concerns me because I was getting on the highway and hit a bump at 35-40mph and my truck died as I was turning (lost power steering), kind of scary but not too bad. Almost done here, I have 2 more short questions to go. I have substantial play in my steering wheel and I think it has a LOT to do with the steering gearbox. Could I be wrong? I doubt it would have anything to do with the hubs/bearing, or whatever it might be with the clunking. When I look through the driver’s side wheel well at the gear box, it looks caked in oil. Is there an easy way to tell if the whole things bad or if it’s just a seal? Last one. I have to replace my rear end ABS sensor that plugs in the rear diff. Is there anything I should know about before I replace it? Any expected issues or tricks to replace it? I have to get these items fixed because I am about to move 1600 miles and my truck and I am driving together. PLEASE HELP! Here is the recap of the questions above:
-How can I tell if I need to replace my entire hub assembly or jus t the bearing for the clunking noise?
-If it was the hub assembly or bearings, would that cause a lot of play in that u-joint? (Here’s a YouTube video that’s SIMILAR to the play I have:
-Would the steering gearbox have anything or everything to do with the amount of play in my steering wheel? And is there a way to tell if the entire G/B is bad or just a bad seal?
-Is there anything special I should know before I tear into the rear diff ABS sensor?
