Hi all,

Today I was backing out of a snowbank in 4wd and my front hubs were making
a loud clickity-clack sound like something was gonna break. It's an
'86 K20 with manual hubs. Could it be the front axle u joints?

On Tue, 20 Mar 2007 19:54:48 GMT, Joe Smith <none (AT) none (DOT) com> wrote:


Did you have the wheels turned? The ujoints are not constant velocity
and when turned sharply ti do not provide a smooth power flow to wheel
via hubs and can cause them to talk especaily if there is some slop in
them. This is way front wheel drives have constant velocity joints on
their drive axles.
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TheSnoMan.com

SnoMan <admin (AT) snoman (DOT) com> wrote in
news:bv210350p75vii4vll5ha0o8a03b1ff43k (AT) 4ax (DOT) com:

Actually, I did have the wheels turned sharply when they made the noise,
as I was trying to back out of a tight space.

Is there a way I can check if there is too much slop? Or should I just go
ahead and replace the ujoints on both sides?

Thanks very much for your help.

On Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:44:12 GMT, Joe Smith <none (AT) none (DOT) com> wrote:


Given its age if it has never been down I would do a complete tear
down of both sides to replace Ujoints (they are 20 years old and to
see a lot of stress) and also to inspect the inner stub shaft that
passes through spindle to dirve wheel via hub. There is a needle
bearing assembly it rides in that sometimes drys out with age or inner
seal failure. There is also a thrust washer that can be worn too
between stub shaft and spindle. It is a pain to tear it down and it
will take some time but when you are done and you have inspected
bearings and replaced or repacked them as needed you will be in good
shape for many years. Also do replace inner spindle/stub shaft seal
and outer spindle/hub seal regardless of how they look becuase these
are your first and only line of defense against dirt and water getting
into the hub/spindle assembly.
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TheSnoMan.com