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4 Wheel Drive/SUVs/clicking noise 2003 silverado

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Expert: - 9/3/2006


Question
Hi, I bought my 2003 silverado 2 months ago. It has 37" tires and 6" of lift. A few weeks ago I noticed a clicking sound coming from underneath the middle of the truck while in 2wd. I assumed that it was a ujoint or something minor because it wasn't too loud and didn't get any worse and it still had the original ujoints(no grease fittings). Then I went to the beach and had to lock it in and the noise immediately got worse and even worse when I got into some bad sand. After a few minutes I also started hearing some more racket with the clicking like maybe some scraping like something was broken inside. The clicking increases with your speed and is much louder in 4wd. I'm thinking transfer case? What do you think?

Answer
Tonya,

I would bet that your first guess is probably right.  Sometimes a u-joint can be bad, or dry causing this problem, and you really can't tell until you pull the end caps, and check the needle bearings.  With the lift, your driveline angle is quite a bit more than stock, and this can be hard on u-joints.

Before you spend the bucks to tear down your transfer case, pull the u-joints, and check them out.

Carl

4 Wheel Drive/SUVs

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Carl Brandt

Expertise

Will discuss suspensions, lifts, lockers along with tire suggestions. Trail ratings and possible requirements needed for specific type of trails. Safety equipment and what you should carry with you. Certified off-road instructor. I am not a mechanic, and 4-Wheeling is a hobby, so if I can't answer a technical question it is due to my mechanical knowledge being related to vehicles that I have owned, or have worked on. I do not have manuals on all vehicles.

Experience

40 plus years of 4 wheeling in a variety of vehicles. At the present time, my major off-road rig is a 94 Jeep Wrangler with a spring over and a 1 1/2" suspension lift. This gives me a total lift of 7" or so. I have lockers front and rear. I have removed the track bars, and sway bar for maximum articulation. I am running a stock 2.5 ltr 4 cylinder with a Jacobs ignition along with a cold air high flow filter. It has 4.56:1 gears with a Dodge NV4500 transmission along with a 3.8:1 Atlas II transfer case. This gives me a final ratio of 105:1 in low gear/low range. Other vehicles I own, are a 96 Ford F-250 with a 6" lift, posi rear end, 36" Hummer tires, 5 speed with a fuel injected 460 ci engine, an 87 Samurai with an 8" lift, Ford 9" rear end with a spool, Chevy Dana 44 front end with an electric locker, 5.88 gears, 16% reduction in high range and a 6.5:1 low range with 35" Baja Claws, and a stock 2003 Grand Cherokee Overland. Trails I have run are the Rubicon (10 times), Dusey Ershim, Fordyce Creek trail, McGrew trail, several trails in Moab, Utah along with local monthly runs.

Organizations
Lost Coast 4x4's Cal 4-Wheel Corva UFWDA Blue Ribbon Coalition

Education/Credentials
Certified off-road instructor - Certificates in engineering/electronics

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