noise from hell

[sloth69mustang]

i finally put my dana 35 together and have it installed in the truck with no front drive shaft. so i went to do my gear break in. so i locked my hubs in and started driving and about 5 miles in i got this horrible squeak from the front right. stopped checked it out sounded like the axel seal thats just behind the spindle. so i was like "F it" and kept driving bc i didnt care if a seal was rubbing. oh there is fresh paint on the ttb arms and radius arms. so i figured it was just from the paint. so i continue driving. about 4 more miles that squeak had a little bit of a grinding sound every once in awhile. keep in mind this is ONLY when the hubs are locked in. then the more i drove it sounded like it was starting to have a little pop to it or clunk so i unlocked the hubs and drove home 20 miles with no noise.

had my buddy ride with me and he hang out the passenger window drove for 4 miles and started to make noise again he said it was def coming from the right front wheel. phew! i thought it was my freshly build dif and i was about to cry. i built the dif myself and the markings were right on so i was really confused on this sound. anyway i havent gone to work yet to tear it apart but i am assuming there are a lot of different things that could make this sound.

i wasnt sure if this has happen to anyone else and what there problem was so i can keep an eye out for stuff. i am sure i will figure it out once i get to work but i hope to god i get it fixed tomorrow

oh and i replaced the u joints with the spicer 5760x joints and the axel mod for full snap rings. but i have never had a u joint make a noise like this before

 

[-Nathan-]

May be stupid, but I have to ask...did you fill it with oil?

Or did you over tighten the wheel bearings?

Put the truck up on jack stands, and drive it in 4wd, listen and find your noise.

 

[4x4junkie]

Probably one of those things that you'll have to take it apart to find out what's wrong (doesn't sound like wheel bearings though if the noise isn't there with unlocked hubs).

BTW, you can't break in the R&P gears if there's no load on them, you have to have the driveshaft connected and be in 4WD to effectively break in the contact surface of the gears.

 

[sloth69mustang]

May be stupid, but I have to ask...did you fill it with oil?

Or did you over tighten the wheel bearings?

Put the truck up on jack stands, and drive it in 4wd, listen and find your noise.

yes there is oil and wheel bearings are fine. only problem is i have 4.56 in front and still 3.73 in rear. i am finishing the rear dif this week and installing it fri.

 

[sloth69mustang]

Probably one of those things that you'll have to take it apart to find out what's wrong (doesn't sound like wheel bearings though if the noise isn't there with unlocked hubs).

BTW, you can't break in the R&P gears if there's no load on them, you have to have the driveshaft connected and be in 4WD to effectively break in the contact surface of the gears.

and you were right i took it apart and i forgot to say earlier that i had the c clip spring in my passenger axel which ended up being too much force on it so the axel seal was rubbing against the back of the spindle which obviously after 5 miles the thing got hot and made noise. so i just took the spring out and it seems to be fine. the axels dont have enough room to go anywhere

and seriously i cant break it in like that? where am i going to drive 20 miles on dirt or gravel.... lol i am in the city i dont have flat dirt or gravel to drive on for that long of a time. and i cant drive in 4x4 with detroit lockers front and rear on the road

 

[sloth69mustang]

a quote from jims build on the trs 2 truck

"You can do a “quick-n-dirty” front axle break-in on a part-time rig by leaving the hubs unlocked but engaging 4-wheel high and driving about 25 miles at moderate speeds, stopping to check for high temps. Then disengage 4wd and just lock in the hubs and drive another 25 miles. These operations should set you up for moderate use on the trail. A few easy trail trips and you can probably call it safe to ‘wheel hard."

i read this years ago but got it backwards lol. how safe is this really?

 

[-Nathan-]

Even if you leave the hubs unlocked, there isnt 'load' on the gears as there is no opposition to their rotation. You should do a proper break in on some dirt or gravel. Snow is even better. Breaking in a new gear set is crucial to their longevity. The first couple of heat cycles "heat treat" the gears so to speak.

 

[sloth69mustang]

yeah i know but i just dont really have a good place to do it around here. the places we go mudding arent flat anywhere or even any kind of loop i can drive. this is going to be tricky and of course sucks even more when you are excited to get the work done and all you want to do is get the truck covered in dirt lol.

 

[-Nathan-]

if you go out and beat on those new gears before breaking them in, dont expect them to last long, or be quiet for long.

 

[4x4junkie]

It's a common misconception that running around in 4WD with the hubs unlocked, or hubs locked in 2WD, etc. breaks in the gears. Without a load on them, the gears may not even touch each other due to the oil film between them (most you'd be doing is breaking in the bearings). You need to have a load on them to work-harden the tooth surfaces.

Maybe remove your rear driveshaft and drive it around on the front for 20 miles or so if you don't wish to drive out to a graded trail somewhere (this should be sufficient for the front), but agreed, if you happen to shock-load the gears enough before they're fully broken in, you can score their teeth or worse.


As for the seals, did you fully lubricate them with grease? Seems a little spring pressure shouldn't bother them (mine's never had a problem).

 

[holyford86]

two words, spindle bearings...

 

[sloth69mustang]

def not spindle bearins. i just said earlier it was the axle seals.

and i did grease them. the spring i had was just too much force on it. idk i will find out monday. the rear end is in but i went to replace my front brake hoses with the braided hoses and one of the hard lines snapped so i am fixing it monday