lately ive been getting a clicking type noise comming from the rear of the truck....this has been happeneing for about 5 days now....sounds like a soda can being hit with a hammer...hard to explain....well today she started vibrating a little bit at low speeds.

today i checked my rear brakes thinking the hardware came apart somehow...and nope, everything is good there....but i did notice that on the passenger side on the rear, i can take the hub assembly (part that has the wheel studs) and move it in and out a little bit...but not more then a 1/4 inch...probably an 1/10 of an inch to be precise....could this be a sign of the the rear end being shot? i changed the fluid not even 2K miles ago...and fluid was right to the plug with no sign of it being bad, still looked like new fluid.....i havent taken off the diff cover yet so i do not know what the magnet has on it....

i also checked my u-joints, and there is no play nor any sign of binding....now can someone tell me if the play on that hub is normal? My motor already has bad rings, and if the rear end is gone im giving up with the truck and getting rid of it....still runs and drives fine, but i know something is up...im getting the corsica in a couple weeks so ill drive that and go my seperate ways with Ol Blue....but im hoping for the best

But the truck has 212K....and needs the following just for inspection;
-Frame repair (small patch, my boss can do it for me for $150)
-ALL brake lines
-ALL fuel lines
-Horn
-E Brake cable
-U-Joint on front axle
-Steering bushing (somehow my sloppy steering fails inspection)

Plus aside from inspection it needs piston rings, front crank seal, and possibly now a rear end....im sick of dumping money in her, and new **** always comes and bites me in the ***....i keep fixing it, and she keeps blowing other parts.

 

A little play from the axle shaft is normal. Is your rear a LSD? and if so when you changed the oil did you add friction modifier?

 

no i have the open diff....but i can def. tell something is up, i varified everything else as good....the rear diff can be the only thing making the noise, and while driving it it is very clear that the sound is from the rear..... this sucks....problem after problem after problem for the past 2 years...

 

Did you check the U-joints?

Might wanna put the truck up on jackstands, see if you can duplicate the noise, see where its really coming from.

 

yea i checked the u-joints, checked for play while on the truck, and nothing, and then i pulled the driveshaft and turned the ujoints by hand and theres no binding what so ever

and today it stopped for about 40 miles...then tonight when i picked up my fiancee from work i was getting kind of a whistling noise...which again, is hard to explain the sound....

 

Wheel bearings?

 

Pull the cover and have a look. Feel all the bearings, and see if anything is "funny".

 

verify the axle bearings arent coming apart, and pull the cover and have a visual of gears and bearings

 

I had a truck in a couple yrs ago now, but had the same problems,and this was about a yr after I rebuilt his rear axle. Long story short, I tracked it down to the transfercase. Pulled it out and apart, and sure enough, the shift forks and some spacers were wiped out. Luckily I had another transfercase laying to steal parts from to keep the cost down.