On my 2001 1500 4X4. When I engage 4WD and turn left or right, I get clicking from the front end, straighten the wheel and it goes away. An educated guess tells me its the one of the front U joints or both. How can I confirm it ? Do I need to jack up the front end ? what else might cause this type of noise if its not the U joints ?

 

To check your universals turn the wheel one way or the other as far as you can. Then lay down under the truck and reach and try to move the joint grab it and shake it try to move it. If it is bad it will move.
Check and make sure there is not a grease fitting in the joint as it might just need greasing. I know mine don't but maybe someone has changed them already.
Check your lug nuts as they might be loose. Mine has a bad joint on the passanger side(just to lazy to fix right now) it makes a clicking sound as you go down the road sounds like a rock stuck in the tread.

 

well I just got off the phone with the mechanic. He says its the transfer case. Thank god for warranties.

 

Transfer case? I dont see how that would have anything to do with it. You may want to get a second opinion or check and see if your u joints are loose before you give your truck up for who knows how long to get a new transfer case.

 

Well too late, the truck is already at the shop. They said they checked the u joints and found the transfer case at fault. I think you're right about the wait, they said Saturday and Saturday came and went. Why is it so hard to get a replacement transfer case ?

 

YEAH I DONT KNOW IF IT WOULD BE THE TRANSFER CASE EITHER......IF THEY ARE ALREADY GETTING THE TRANSFER CASE FOR IT THEN IT IS TO LATE,BUT IF IT STILL DID IT AFTER THEY CHANGE THAT THEN I WOULD TAKE IT BACK AND TELL THEM TO CHANGE IT BACK AND FIX THE PROBLEM......NOT SAYING THAT IT ISNT THE TRANSFER CASE BUT IT JUST DONT SOUND RIGHT.IF YOU ARE ON HARD PAVEMENT AND YOU TURN IT TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT IT WILL MAKE A BOUNCING OR JERKING BECAUSE YOU ARE ON HARD PAVEMENT AND YOU SHOULD BE IN DIRT OR MUD OR SNOW BECAUSE OF THE GEARING WHEN YOU TURN IT HARD LEFT OR RIGHT.....SO LET US KNOW WHAT GOES ON AFTER THEY CHANGE IT OUT!!!!!!

 

I'll keep you guys posted. I just purchased this truck used with 42000 miles and only used the 4WD once after the heavy snow, after that is when i noticed the clicking in turns. I thought for sure it was just universals but we'll see, they say its supposed to be ready tomorrow (tues). I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

 

UPDATE: So I finally had a chance to test drive the 4WD last week and still had the clicking. The shop took another look and ended changing both front U joints. They found a stiff bearing on one of the joints. No play in it but very stiff. Now I had it out in the snow again last night and it still makes the clicking in turns. Not half as bad and not all the time. What the $%@^& could be going on?

For the next part: I know in 4WD the drive train is not as smooth underway but what is normal and what isn't ? I get a little vibration from about 25mph up to about 40. Is this okay ? Its hard to tell exactly if its the front or back. I kind of want to take it back to the shop but I don't want to be a pita if its nothing and I'm not even sure at this point what to do with the clicking in the turns. Do you guys get any clicking at all in the turns in 4WD ?

Thanks

 

The term U-joint gets thrown around a bit loosely here. You may also want to see if it is a wheel joint. I had to replace one of mine recently. It was making an awful racket. I'm somewhat surprised that a transfer case was identified as the culprit.

 

maybe what you should do is take them for a ride in it and show them (if that's possible w/o snow). Could this be a ball joint issue? You might want to do a search over on pavementsucks.com and see what you can turn up. those guy's have seen just about everything and are very helpful.