When I put my truck (97 F150 XLT 4x2 w/118,000k) into gear, nothing, nothing, nothing then thump...it goes into gear with a metallic thump. Took it to a rear end shop and was told that it was the tranny. This was approx a year ago. Well the tranny went about a month ago and I just got it replaced. It appears that I had two problems because sure enough, most of the hesitation is gone but not all. So I'm assuming the remaining problem is with the rear end. Can replacement/rebuild work be done with the rear end in place?
Thanks,
UB
PS I have replaced the u-joints already.

 

Yes. Repair work can be done to your truck, without removing the complete axle assembly from under the vehicle (providing no permanent damage has been done to the axle housing). It is extremely rare to have to replace axle (tube) housing assembly on a 8.8" Ford diff.


Be sure to take it to a reputable gear shop. Is your F150 L/S & have high mileage? L/S diff's. tend to have a little more slop (espically when the internals in the carrier get a lot of wear).

 

Thanks for your reply! No, it is not limited slip and yes, it has approx 118,000 but I enjoy this truck and plan on having it around for as long as I can. Oh yea, can rear end problems cause the truck to vibrate? I'm also trying to pin down a vibration problem.
Thanks

 

UB

Is your pinion seal leaking? Are wheel seals leaking? Usually if a differential is the source of the vibration--it will fail quickly. Are your tire sizes (on left vs right) almost identical in circumferance?

The problem You are describing reminds me of one I had years ago with a big Chrysler. Customer insisted problem (slop) was in the diff.--problem ended-up being the rear servo in the A/T.

Do you have cast allow wheels on your truck? I have seen them vibrate after losing a balance weight. How are your tires on the rear? My previous Co. truck, 1997 F-150 S/C would vibrate alot when one of the wheel weights came off of the cast alloy wheels.

Have you had the truck since new? Maybe it has a bent axle shaft! Possible from result of accident or banging a curb?
Keep us posted. gearman

 

Gearmanx17,
Thank you for the time and info. No, I have not had the truck since new. I bought it in 98 with only a few thousand miles on it and the "sloppy" feeling was there, although not as bad, when I got it. Hopefully it has nothing to do with the tranny since I just had it replaced last week. But, again, it was doing this before the tranny replacement.

As far as leaking, nothing around the wheels and just the usual wet look on the housing but nothing abnormal.

Now to the vibration. Yes, I do have Ford alloy wheels on the truck. They have been balanced every way you can think of. But as I read your post, something came back to me. The vibration started right after my first front end alignment. NAPA removed the factory-installed shims installed the "new" bolts. Could this have something to do with the vibration? Maybe I should take it to Ford and let them realign it. Hey, I just thought of something else. I replaced the rear leaf springs around the same time. The truck was sagging and they needed to be replaced. Lots of recollection, huh?! Thanks for your insight.
UB

 

UB

Can you feel any vibration in the steering wheel or doe's it seem like a "seat of your pants" vibration? I cannot answer your question about the bolts in the front end.

Is the vibration more prevalent at any certain speed? Doe's vibration get worse the faster you go? Or, is it more noticeable when foot is on or off the accelerator?

My prevoius Co. F-150 (1997 S/C) had new springs installed at about 130,000 miles. I ordered the new spring froms Ford by using the spring code on the driver side door tag. Door code was "PF", which happens to be the same code for my 99, F-150 S/C.

If springs are not genuine Ford; I could see that the driveshaft angularity may be off from what the orginal d/s angularity was. This is Very Important.

Keep me posted. If I can help--son't hesitate to ask! gearman