The fly in Quig's post (and mine) is the new diff jt U which won't necessarily have a match mark. Being used it might, and I'd try there first. (Most mechanics that take a U jt apart will mark them, usually with a pen or pencil. And if they don't the first time, they will forever after.) Seldom, but occasionally, with a scribe or chisel. We can hope for a really obvious mark.
There are professional drive shaft shops around usually used by Semi tractors (trucks) they balance drive shafts (Perhaps ask around a truckstop or terminal ) perhaps they may be able to straighten out your driveshaft issue...
There are also pump shops that deal with u-joint drives that are capable of drive shaft balancing. I would not be surprised to find any given shop able to do both.
IT's FIXED!!! It was a couple of things actually. And yes, I did mark the DS with chalk, but while replacing the joints, the chalk got rubbed away. Lesson learned. This is what I did tonight. Oh, and I couldn't "mark" where the differential and DS met, because I had swapped out the entire back axle (but that didn't fix my problem so it was time and money wasted. GRRRR. back on track). I marked everything with a grease pen. I was going to first rotate the DS 180* where the 2 driveshafts meet. I removed the U-Bolts on the diff, and lowered the shaft. One of the caps from the U-Joint fell off and I took a peak in side. UH-OH, one of the pin bearings was laying on the bottom in 2 pieces. OK, so there's ONE problem. Pulled the rear DS from the front DS. Got out from under the truck, pulled the other side of the U-Joint cap off, checked it, it was good. Confirmed that the yoke was keyed, ok, removed the yoke from the rear DS, rotated 180* and reinstalled. I noticed on the U-Joint that connects to the diff, that it was stiff. It shouldn't be, it was brand new. I removed it, found nothing out of place and tried to reinstall. Got the retainer clips in and it was tight again, removed again. HMMM. Nothing wrong, put the U-Joint in, without the clips and it was ok. Put one clip in, still ok, put the other clip in, NOT ok. GRRR, removed yet again. Check the U-Joint, checked the DS. Found a piece of rust in the grove where the clip goes. Re-cleaned the DS and reinstalled the U-joint. Moved just fine. One the cap that had the broken pin, I removed all pins and grease and found only one was broken. I cleaned all the pins and luckily I still had one of my old U-Joints, I stole a pin from there (hey, it don't need them any more), re-greased and reinstalled all pins. Yeah, I know prolly not the best thing to do, but it works. Crawled back under the truck, put the slip yoke on, the lined up my marked on the diff (hey, only trying to make ONE change at a time). Tightened everything up, regreased all U-Joints (yeah, I got the kind with a grease zerk), regreased the slip yoke. Took the truck out for a test drive. NO NOISE!!! NO VIBRATION!!! WOOOHOOOOO!!!! Came back home and spent the next 5 hours replacing the front shocks. I had to cut one out, but it's done. Truck rides nice and smooth now (well, as smooth as a 22 year old truck can ride anyway). Thanks all for the tips, tricks, pointers, etc.!! I suppose one of these day's I need to post some pictures of this truck!!
persistasnt little bastid aint ya.. how many of these can I post ? congratulations! in fact I think I'll open another beer in your honor.
My RANGER IS MAKING A NEW howl between 50 and 65 mph youhave inspired me to go through the driveline before the snow hits. toolate, spent the last decent weekend at a buddies cabin; his end of season dirt bike/bbq weekend, light Snow today
OK, just took a trip to Natchez Trace Campground this weekend. It's about 110mi one way, interstate driving. Truck handled just fine. Still have a noise, but it had it when I took possession of the truck, so I guess that means I'm back to the starting point. The noise is a high pitched rattle sound, that only happens when accelerating or going uphills. When going downhill, with cruse on, the sound goes away. I'm thinking it's still something in the driveline still, but I'm not sure. Now for the fun part. Took the truck on a quick errand this morning. Got on the interstate, with the heater on, and I could smell antifreeze. About then I see the passenger floor mat is wet, with drops still coming down. Great, looks like I might be replacing the heater core. I'll check all the hoses first, just to see if one of them has cracked. The fun is never ending with this truck
Just HAD to buy a toy, din'cha? Is it fair to assume you have a tool box in the bed? The noise under load might be as simple as weakened or loose motor or tranny mounts allowing the engine to torque over and hit something. The other possibilities are not so easy. Last time I had that sort of thing was a heavily carboned head (increased compression ratio from extended idling, long time ago.) Temporary fix and diagnostic, dribble some water thru the carb at something above idle speed, watch for black smoke that stops when the water stops. Permanent fix takes disassembly. Further diagnosis well worth the effort before that. Oil pressure OK? No piston slap? (Use a long screwdriver or mechanic's stethoscope on the block at the base of the cylinders.) Compression even in all cylinders? (Even counts more than in spec.) Throw out bearing not noisy at any speed? (I think you said it is manual tranny.)
Technically, i didn't buy the truck. I got it from my mom after my dad passed away. After all, what did she need with a Malibu, an Explorer, the F150 and a motor home? Yeah, I just got the tool box for the back Ya know, it's nice to have an extended cab and an 8' bed. Oil pressure is good, don't know any thing about piston slap, don't know about compression. It's an automatic transmission (I wish it was a manual, and a 4x4, but gotta deal with what I got). Thanks for the tips.
See what you started! ? Just finished my '97 Rangers driveline ujoints and a driveshaft carrier bearing ,( rides like a new truck !the new wail is gone..!). ujoints are a pain in the Azz, of course its been 38 and raining.
Sounds like preignition (knock) use higher octane fuel or check your ignition timing.( carbon buildup can cause it too; the carbon glows red hot and ignites the fuel mixture before the plug is supposed to Heater core! you get all the fun jobs...I hate working under thedash..
Better throw some one gallon jugs of water and some anti-freezer in the back. If that heater core quits you will get a big bath in the front seat and will need to keep feeding it water just to get home. Don't ask me how I know.
Funny thing is, it leaked the ONE time. I pulled the glove box off and the cover over the heater to see how bad it was, now I can't get it to leak. I have been carrying a gallon of AF, 2qts of oil, 2qts of ATF, some PS fluid, brake fluid and a set of tools since taking possession of the truck. I dunno, should I just replace the heater core? They are less than $25.00, cheap insurance I guess. Just not looking forward to draining the AF, again. Tango, the HC is REALLY simple to get to on this truck. Pull the glove box off, remove 7 screws, pull the cover, and there it is.
Then you're lucky our old Aerostar requires a special tool to disconect the snap in heater lines and midgets fingers, the 77pontiac trans-am needed the right inner fender removed... Good luck man I don't want to steer you wrong on this one. If you can see it easily, get the truck up to temperature turn the heater on full (my ranger has a vacuum operated diverter valve in the heater line).then look.
What he said. Make sure it is as hot as it can get, meaning find a long hill to pull so the temp (and therefore pressure) gets as high as you can make it. Might even block off the radiator to keep it from cooling at all. If you do that, watch carefully for signs of overheating. (That rattle you had could have been overheat induced preignition.) Watching the expansion tank will be nearly a full time job, and whatever you do, do NOT take the radiator cap off while it's hot. (Yeah, I know, you know that. Just being sure.) I've seen two cases where leaks were intermittent and they just don't get better on their own. Better to break it under controlled circumstances rather than some time where/when it's inconvenient. When/if you find the leak, replace the hoses at the same time you replace the core. If it doesn't leak under testing, throw a bottle of BarsLeak in the tool box. It works. I used it in an 85 F-150 planning on replacing the radiator when I got around to it. Three years later when I traded it in, still OK. The diverter valve does not take the core out of the system, simply blocks flow. The core will still see the pressure, just not the temp, so you don't need to boil yourself in the cab while waiting this out. Granted, the core might have to be hot to leak, but seems to me that pressure is what will do it.
