There is a rumble in the front end of our '05 quad cab 4X4 Dakota and I thought it was the RH hub so I replaced it. Rumble was still there so I replaced the LH hub. Still have the rumble so I plan on pulling both drive axles and trying it that way to see if the rumble is still there or not. Hubs should come out easier this time as I used copious amounts of nev-r-sieze on everything when I put it back together. At least I won't have to pull the yokes this time and beat the snot outn the hubs to get them out.

Haven’t driven the truck for a while and been thinking about this rumble noise.
Any chance this is caused by a bad CV joint? Never heard a noise like this before from a CV joint, usually it’s a hub.

 

Check the CV joint on the front driveshaft, where it goes into the transfer case.

 

Thanks, I'll look at that in a few days, it's supposed to be above freezing on the weekend.

 

Took a quick look, and the CV joint doesn't look good.
I phoned around locally and CV joints are not available and the going price for a rebuilt driveshaft is around $400 exchange. I can get a CV joint online for $125 shipped.
Is there any major reason why I can't replace the CV joint myself?
I searched online for how-to and couldn't find anything. There was one mention about it being pressed on, but no details. I have 2 presses, one 12 ton and also a 20 ton, so shouldn't be a problem if that's all that's needed.

I hate to order a joint on line and then find out it needs to be welded on and trued up which I probably can't do. I could do the welding but couldn't guarantee that it would be perfectly straight.

 

Google "DORMAN 932303"

That's the CV joint listed on Rockauto for $98.22. Looks pretty easy to rebuild, shouldn't be any welding involved.

 

I rebuilt mine myself last summer. If you do just make sure to MARK THE ALIGNMENT so the shaft stays balanced and doesn't vibrate. As for the pressed aspect, you can put the joint in a vise or anything that will hold it and just use a hammer and chisel to press it yourself. It might not look as pretty but it is 100% as effective.

 

I see in the pic of the CV joint kit that one part is splined and that there is a snap ring supplied. So I'm assuming that it presses onto the drive shaft and then the snap ring to hold it in place?

 

There is no pressing. I've replaced mine twice. first time, it was the one that came with the truck and it became rusted and clunked in 4x4 mode only. Then I replaced it. A year went by and then I started hearing a click only above 35mph in 2wd, but made a clunking noise like before in 4wd. I tore that one apart and the whole inside was shattered. I now have like 2 miles on the new one. I've been rebuilding my suspension at the same time so its been down as I'm Not always motivated to work on it (I have multiple vehicles lol) you can go to my profile and read my threads/posts that I created that had the same noise. It's very simple to replace. Remove driveshaft, four bolts at diff and 6 bolts at the transfer case. Then you take the snap ring off once you remove the cover and it slides right off the splines. No press needed. If I had the money, I would've got a driveshaft that had a ujoint on each end, rather than a u joint at the diff side and an expensive cv on the other end. Thankfully dorman themselves replaced my last cv after I sent it to them for inspection. It took a couple weeks tho. If you need any help, let me know.

 

Thanks, the weather here has finally warmed up to above freezing in the daytime so got it out and apart. Just waiting for the new joint to arrive. I found I could get one locally. NAPA, C$250, so I ordered one online C$100 cheaper. Same brand also, Dorman, w/a limited lifetime warranty. I wonder what the "limited" part disallows.

 

Probably only good for the original purchaser, not for commercial use, etc. Dorman is a pretty good company. I wouldn't worry about it.