Hubs making noise

Hi all,

Today I was backing out of a snowbank in 4wd and my front hubs were making a loud clickity-clack sound like something was gonna break. It's an '86 K20 with manual hubs. Could it be the front axle u joints?

Reply to
Joe Smith
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Did you have the wheels turned? The ujoints are not constant velocity and when turned sharply ti do not provide a smooth power flow to wheel via hubs and can cause them to talk especaily if there is some slop in them. This is way front wheel drives have constant velocity joints on their drive axles.

----------------- TheSnoMan.com

Reply to
SnoMan

SnoMan wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Actually, I did have the wheels turned sharply when they made the noise, as I was trying to back out of a tight space.

Is there a way I can check if there is too much slop? Or should I just go ahead and replace the ujoints on both sides?

Thanks very much for your help.

Reply to
Joe Smith

Given its age if it has never been down I would do a complete tear down of both sides to replace Ujoints (they are 20 years old and to see a lot of stress) and also to inspect the inner stub shaft that passes through spindle to dirve wheel via hub. There is a needle bearing assembly it rides in that sometimes drys out with age or inner seal failure. There is also a thrust washer that can be worn too between stub shaft and spindle. It is a pain to tear it down and it will take some time but when you are done and you have inspected bearings and replaced or repacked them as needed you will be in good shape for many years. Also do replace inner spindle/stub shaft seal and outer spindle/hub seal regardless of how they look becuase these are your first and only line of defense against dirt and water getting into the hub/spindle assembly.

----------------- TheSnoMan.com

Reply to
SnoMan

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