Do differential's click when going bad??
 

I have this click, click, click, click from the rear of my truck when slowing to a stop. It starts at maybe 10mph as I slow down, and then starts again when I go until about 10mph. It's intermittent and it doesn't seem to make any difference if you are going straight, turning left or right.

I know these diffs have issues, but I think it's mostly with the LSD, which I'm not sure I have. It's an '04 QC, 4.7 and has the 45rfe.

I have no other noise at all from the diff, whining or anything. It doesn't shutter or grind at all.

I haven't ruled out something to do with the rear brakes (pads, rotors or hardware), and I want to take a look inside the small drum brake that is the parking brake, as one time I used it and it made a snapping noise and the pedal went all the way to the floor, and now it barely works.

I also am not sure if it's a U-joint. I went under and tried to wiggle the driveshaft and it was solid as can be, could not get the U-joint to move at all.

Just wanted to see what people thought about it being the diff or not.

I would say that this is your problem, given the symptoms. Mine did the same thing and it turned out that the e-brake pad had de-laminated from the shoe. The pedal was going all the way to the floor and the unit was clicking... ;)

Did your significant other drive the vehicle, by chance? Maybe forgot to take the e-brake off...?

Diffs don't usually "click". They tend to "whine"...

5hundo......you had it exactly right, same exact thing. I pulled the driver rear brake apart tonight, slid the rotor/drum off and both linings fell right out, not even attached to the shoe backings at all. The truck only has 95K on it...what crap!!

Anyway, are these a dealer item or can I buy these e-brake shoes at any auto parts store?

Thanks.

Your wife/girlfriend and/or teenage son/daughter borrowed your truck, didn't they...? ;)

Just kidding, man... :D

Joking aside, if a driver forgets to take that brake off when they drive away, it can come off pretty quick. They're not designed to take that kind of heat cycling. They're only supposed to be used for parking and in the event of a main brake failure. The e-brake shoes are not designed for that kind of constant use.

You should be able to get them at most auto parts stores. I get all my brake parts from these guys:

http://www.r1concepts.com/

They sell all the pads and rotors for Dakotas and you can opt for slotted and crossed-drilled, if you prefer. I have Centerline, Billet rims so when I use the drilled/slotted rotors on my Dak, it really looks good. I've never had them warp and the pads last forever!

Haha, no I actually only bought the truck like 1,500 miles ago and my wife hasn't driven it yet. Right after I bought it I parked somewhere and used the parking brake, I know a lot of people don't with an Auto trans but I always do when it's any kind of incline I just hate the weight of the truck resting on the trans parking pall.

Anyway it worked a few times and then one day it made a loud snap and the pedal went all the way to the floor and the brake didn't work, thought I may have snapped the cable or something, then later I heard the clicking intermittently so I figured something came apart in there.

My guess is that the parking brake wasn't used for the last 8 years and then when I started using it a few times the linings on the shoes just gave out.

It looks pretty simple and straight forward to throw new shoes in there, just a smaller version of a full rear drum brake.

Thanks.

Yup! Basically a 1930s version of a drum brake. All mechanical linkage and components. You won't even have to do any bleeding. Very straight-forward...

While you're there, I would just go ahead and replace the rear brake pads and rotor (if you can't turn it). I don't know about you but my time is at a premium and if I'm going to tear apart a corner of my truck, I don't want to have to do it again for a very long time...