rear axle shifts

[reed501]

wondering if anyone has had the same problem. right when the truck stops it feels like the rear axle moves. when you let off the brakes to start moving you feel it move again. looked at ujionts and u bolts looks fine.can anyone help

 

[bobcatgt]

:umn:If you've hit any major bumps or accidently cornered a curb; check your outer axle bearings and your axle tubes.
The axle could be worn and not tight enough in the bearing, causing a little "play".
If this is the case then go buy the repair bearings.
This is only a one time fix so make sure it's done right

 

[mygreen98]

any noises?

 

[95TwinTT]

wondering if anyone has had the same problem. right when the truck stops it feels like the rear axle moves. when you let off the brakes to start moving you feel it move again. looked at ujionts and u bolts looks fine.can anyone help

I'm going to guess you are feeling the drive shaft sticking and then releasing on the spline, where it goes into the rear of the transfer case.

When you come to a stop, the banjo housing wraps up slightly moving the drive shaft. It is held in place with the brakes. As soon as you release the brakes, the spline can slide back to the cruise position.

If it is sticking, it will make a soft clunking noise and you of course can feel it too. It may not do it each time you stop. Easy fix, just pull the drive shaft off and put a little grease on the spline.

 

[njtahoex2]

I'm going to guess you are feeling the drive shaft sticking and then releasing on the spline, where it goes into the rear of the transfer case.

When you come to a stop, the banjo housing wraps up slightly moving the drive shaft. It is held in place with the brakes. As soon as you release the brakes, the spline can slide back to the cruise position.

If it is sticking, it will make a soft clunking noise and you of course can feel it too. It may not do it each time you stop. Easy fix, just pull the drive shaft off and put a little grease on the spline.

You got it. Once a year I have to do that. Very common.
KG

 

[sasquatch094]

what kinda grease???

 

[96ProCompTahoe]

any specific grease? i need to get around to changing the fluids and get it all greased back up.

 

[reed501]

thanks for info

Thank you for all the info. When I get home from off the road working. I'm going to try the grease @ install a evo sensor. Hope that fixs the problems.

 

[sasquatch094]

Idk procomp. Since i havnt heard back from them i just asked my dad. he said just like normal thing of grease.. like synthetic stuff. Like idk if the color helps, but it was red.. im sure anything will work.... im gunna try that this week, its driving me crazy..

 

[Chevy_Nick]

reply

you mean where it come out the back of the Tranny? And where is this "Spline" Is that on the Front or the Rear of the Driveshaft... and do i just pack it down with grease? cause it's driveing me "balls up the wall".

 

[95TwinTT]

you mean where it come out the back of the Tranny? And where is this "Spline" Is that on the Front or the Rear of the Driveshaft... and do i just pack it down with grease? cause it's driveing me "balls up the wall".

If you are 4 wheel drive, the transfer case is behind the trans. But, yea, it is the front of the rear drive shaft. You take out the four bolts holding the rear U joint. Pop the U-joint out of their sockets. Generally a big screw driver will suffice. When you slide the spline out of the rear seal, it will drop about a half a cup of tranny fluid. You don't want to be directly under the spline. lol

Just so you know it's coming. That spline is supposed to easily move back and forth. If it is sticking, check to make sure it is clean. It may require a little wire brush action.

They don't take a lot of grease. My favorite is the white lithium grease. It is not affected by cold weather. Brush it on the spline with an old tooth brush.

P.S. Be sure to keep the caps on tight on the U-joint. They like to fall off and cause extra work finding the needle bearings. Once the U-Joint comes out of the saddles, there is nothing holding the caps on. You might want to have a 12" piece of tape standing by, to wrap around the caps, so you don't have to worry about them.

All and all, it is just busy work, nothing difficult. It also give you a chance to see what condition the U-Joints are in.

 

[sasquatch094]

Is their a anything to look for when taking apart the Ujoints, you said to make sure their in good cond.? what do you look for in those?? also what makes the driveshaft do that? was their never grease in their the first place or what??? Should we worry about filling the tranny with some more fluid since i leaked a bit???

 

[95TwinTT]

Is their a anything to look for when taking apart the Ujoints, you said to make sure their in good cond.? what do you look for in those?? also what makes the driveshaft do that? was their never grease in their the first place or what??? Should we worry about filling the tranny with some more fluid since i leaked a bit???

After the U-joint is free of the rear yoke, you can carefully slip the cups off to see if there is grease inside and that all of the needle bearings look clean.
When U-joints go bad, it is often from drying out. Some U-Joints have grease fitting, but they are hard to get to and some require the "needle" to get the grease into them.

Most U-joints are sealed for "life", whatever that is supposed to mean. But they don't last long after they dry out.

Why they did not provide for lubrication on the rear spline is a mystery. The front spline on the 4x4's have a grease fitting.

Lots of factors enter into the sticking spline syndrom. There is tranny fluid that can find it's way into the spline, but it more by accident than design. The early splines had a weep hold in the center of the yoke, so they were not "weather tight". Maybe General Motors figured the U-Joints would be replaced often enough to get the spline serviced, I don't know. As far as putting tranny fluid back in for the small amount that came out, I would not worry about it. It is a good time to check the trans fluid level, just for fun. If you have 4 wheel drive, it is the transfer case that the fluid is coming out of. To check that one, there are two plugs on the back side, one high and one low. The level should be close to the top plug, when the truck is sitting level. It also uses ATF, same as the automatic trans.

The splines are moving all the time, with every bump. It is just when you come to a stop that it can move to the far end of it's normal travel. All it takes is a little rust, or dirt and it can stick. It doesn't hurt anything, it is just irritating.

Once you lubricate it, you will probably never have to do it again. It might have taken the truck over 75,000 miles to get to the sticking problem in the first place.

 

[sasquatch094]

Very nice

 

[sasquatch094]

Well today i went out in my garage and decided im going to fix this problem. Took of the 4 bolts, took out the drive shaft and noticed that inside the splines was a good amount of tranny oil for it to be lubricated. I was thinking was TwinTurbo said. I moved down to look at the Ujoints, i was moving them back and forth, they were kinda stiff like (not moving freely). said what the hell, called up Murrays cheapest one was 6.99 with 3 month warranty, the best one they had was 16.99 with lifetime warranty. Went out and got the lifetime one and put it in. Greased the fitting it came with, and i did grease the splines just a little bit. Put it all back together and i resolved the problem. no clunks, no anything.. So thanks TwinTurbo man, and everyone else with the knowledge to lead me to this..

 

[Chevy_Nick]

well i have already replaced my U-Joints, changed my rear differential Fluid, changed my tranny fluid and this lil "lift and sit" problem in the rear of the 'Hoe is still there. I'm gonna be so pissed if this spline needing greased is all that it is. My GF is currently borrowing my tahoe so when i get it back i will give this a try. Do i need to do the same to the front driveshaft?

 

[Chevy_Nick]

so all i do is just take the driveshaft out and rub some grease on the Spline with a toothbrush, pretty evenly and decently thick?

 

[95TwinTT]

:cool2:

Do i need to do the same to the front driveshaft?

No, the front drive shaft does not move like the rear. Just the rear shaft and don't over do it on grease. Make sure the splines are clean and then just give it a light coating of grease.

 

[qlc1964]

i heard if you take the front drive shaft off (4wd) you will get better ges milage.

it kinda make sense one less thing for the trans to turn the tranfer case when not in use.

i will do it next year and see what happens

 

[mygreen98]

i just developed the same problem, coincidently, i found out i have a bad rear tranfer case bearing, maybe play in the tcase causes rear shaft to "jump". any thoughts?