'97 Explorer front end "clunk" while accelerating

I just got my '97 AWD V8 back from Ford after they replaced the rear main seal (ouch). Maybe in my head, but something wasn't right with it since I got it back.

Today, I was pulling away from a traffic light at about 10 m.p.h, and stepped on it. As it was accelerating, I heard two loud "clunks" from the front end. It is usually two clunks, but sometimes only one. It is driving fine otherwise. If I am at speed, and step on it, it will downshift, but no clunk. Seems to only be from low speed. It sounds like front diff, maybe transfer case. Doesn't really sound like tranny, but who knows - they pulled it to get to the rear seal, so they coulda screwed it up. It's almost the same sound as when the universal joint went on the front drive shaft, but that clunch was constant, and the car was barely driveable.

I did notice *another* leak coming from the pinion seal on the front diff, but I doubt it is leaking enough to drain it. Probably gonna need all of the seals in the front axle replaced anyway, so if it is the diff, maybe only a little more painful than what I need anyway. I did the rear pinion seal myself, but knowing what I now know about the bearing pre-load, I think I'll leave this one to the pros.

Anybody have any other ideas from my lame attempt at a description of the problem? I hate taking it to the dealer when I don't have a clue what it is, and I hate taking it to a local shop, 'cause they'll rebuilt the whole darn car on my dime, regardless of the problem.

-Joe

Reply to
Joe Rizza
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Hard to say what your clunk is. I think I would take it back to the dealer and tell them the noise appeared after they worked on it and you want to know if something wasn't done right, or something is loose.

Take the service manager for a ride and show him how you make the noise.

If they have to work on the drivelines or transfer case to fix it, it is probably related to the main seal job. Other parts would be pretty iffy, since thay would not have worked on those to get the transmission out.

Reply to
"ross via CarKB.com

Well, I was debating, but yes, I'm going back to the dealer to take them for a ride. I've already had it back twice since they replaced the seal. !st time about 2 minutes after I picked it up 'cause the check engine light was on, and they bent the speed sensor. Second time, same light, and I was complaining that it just wasn't the same as when I brought it in. They swore up and down it was the old gas cap leak, which I already tried out, but it came back. It hasn't come back since they reset it.

I don't think they had to pull anything but the tranny. I don't think they touched the transfer case, but I can keep my fingers crossed that they screwed something up. I did swamp the vehicle, which is the root of the problems. I think I just did in some seals that were on the edge anyway.

Thanks for the ideas. I'll post back with what they say. It's POSSIBLE that it is the front drive shaft that I replaced 2 years ago. If it's that then I'll definitely fix it myself, but I'm not going to start diagnosing it. The front axle and pinion seal are gonna have to be done at some point anyway.

-joe

Reply to
Joe Rizza

Well, guess I'm not sure how Ford approaches that job. I assumed a tranny pull, which means the transfer case comes out. Did they pull the engine and tranny as a package instead?

I have the 99 AWD. I would be surprised if a clunk had anything to do with the differential itself. And just for the record, my front seal leaks. I check the fluid occasionally, but even tho the differential is "wet", it is not losing enough to require adding fluid.

It can be tricky finding drivetrain noises on these things.....

Reply to
"ross via CarKB.com

No, it woulda cost a LOT more to pull the engine, and I woulda had a LOT more done while they had it out. They didn't say anything about the t-case, but I'd have to crawl under there to see if it was possible to do without pulling the t-case. I plan to do that anyway this weekend to see if there is anything obvious to be seen before I take it in.

Yeah, I don't plan to do the seals unless they have to pull the front end anyway, so it depends entirely on what the problem ends up being. When the rear seal went it was dry to major leak overnight. The front isn't doing that, so maybe it'll hold on for a while. It's the pinion seal that more worries me than the axle. They will do the pinion seal for under $170, which to me is well worth it given the crap I went through, and how I could have screwed up the rear end ('cause I didn't know what I was doing - i.e. using a HAMMER).

-Joe

Reply to
Joe Rizza

Well, I took Ford for a test drive, and they don't think the problem is in the driveshaft, but in the axle. I got "the speach" about it being decision time. Keep dumping money into it, or enjoy the time I've got left. SO, I think I'll see if I can do the job myself. Easiest way is probably going to be to buy a used axle assembly, so I'm checking junk yards. I still want to understand the problem better

- i.e. what if it is just the CV joint? That shouldn't be a terrible job.

-Joe

Reply to
Joe Rizza

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