Hi all,

I've done a search and the general consensus is that its the U-joints, the thing is, I've pulled the drive shaft and they're fine. Easy movement and no play in them at all.

The problem is an intermitent squeal from the rear end. It does not go away when the brakes are pressed so that rules them out. It almost sounds like a belt slipping but its definitely coming from the rear of the truck. It happens at low speed only and seems more pronounced when I give it a little bit of gas. If you floor it, it won't do it. Only at low speed coasting and light throttle (like 10mph or less). The U-joints seem fine. I took the truck for a light drive and it seems that when the truck has been going low speed only it eventually goes away, once you drive above 30mph for a little bit the noise will come back at low speed.

I jacked up the rear end to see if there is any play in the bearings and there doesn't seem to be any (there is no excessive heat when touching the hubs either) but there does seem to be maybe 1/16" of play in line with the axle. Is that normal? Or am I looking at some bearing thats failed in the rear end. There doesn't seem to be any shavings or burnt smell in the rear diff oil either.

Thanks for any input...

 

Not trying to be a smart *** or anything, but could it be your tailgate?
I know on both of my F150s the tailgate kinda squeals do to shaking around while driving. Drove me crazy for about 3 months until I was looking in the back of my truck and leaned on the tailgate and it made the noise. And I only really heard it at low speeds.

Seriously, go back and shake your tailgate while its up and see if it makes the noise.

 

It could still be the u-joints. I would also do a thorough examination of your rear brakes, the parking brake might be dragging or something is bent and contacting the drum or rotor.

 

Like JNC said, not meaning to be a smart-@ss or anything, but have you also checked to make sure that your spare is all the way tightened up as well? My '97 was bumping, rattling, and squeaking, and in all the work I'm doing currently, I found that the spare is not all the way cranked up.:o

 

Hi guys,

Well I went through everything again, the spare is one of the first things I checked because I recently had it out and same with the tailgate.

Just to be sure I dropped the driveshaft again to give the U-joints a little test and the rear one on one axis while still smooth just seemed to be a little off compared to the movement of the others (after a closer inspection). Since the joints are like $20 each I decided to just go ahead and do them.

Long story short, one of the U-joints did turn out to be bad (no grease and full of rust) and replacing them fixed the problem, no more squeaking.

Its surprising how one little joint can cause many different problems from clunking to squeaking to vibrations and rattles.

 

wtf??? I think we have a spammer

 

Good to hear you got the problem fixed.

I noticed this play in the axle of my truck as well. Does anyone know if it is normal?