86 with manual hubs in make "tinking" noise

[Vekz]

I tried searching but didn't find anything quite like this, sorry if it has been posted elsewhere!

First a quick background note on me. This is really the first vehicle I have tried working on myself. I bought my 1986 Bronco three years ago and have been able to fix a few smaller problems (with the help of Google) but this one I can't find much information on.

I live in Nome, AK so 4x4 is in a good majority of the time 5+ months out of the year just getting to and from work in the winter. It's been working great since I bought it but when I started using it this year I had a problem. When I locked the manual hubs in and started driving I heard an intermittent "tinking" noise, a light metal on metal noise maybe?. It's not a clunking or hard grinding noise. It doesn't always start right away and can take a minute or two to start or might last 10 minutes before it starts. Can start at low speeds in town or at 30 miles an hour on the road out of town. Once it starts it usually keeps making the noise but sometimes stops for a few seconds. It makes the noise whether I am in 2 wheel drive or 4. It sounds like it is coming from the front middle of the truck, but could be wrong. The hubs in seem to be the determining factor.

I have crawled underneath and tried to find anything loose that might be rubbing but can't seem to find anything out of the ordinary. If it makes any difference the transfer case was replaced about 6 months ago by a shop.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

- Jacob

 

[Seabronc]

Welcome to the Zone /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Quick off the top of my head is possibly the universal joints on the front drive shaft. Check them for signs of rust where they pivot. They have a grease fitting you should be able to get at and if they show signs of rust or are dry and take a lot of grease, I'd consider replacing them. Replacement is not a difficult task and can be done on a work bench. How's the weather in Alaska? We just got our first snow storm in lower NY state.

Also there should be a grease fitting on the shaft, pump some in there also.

Good Luck,

 

[Vekz]

Welcome to the Zone //>>

Quick off the top of my head is possibly the universal joints on the front drive shaft. Check them for signs of rust where they pivot. They have a grease fitting you should be able to get at and if they show signs of rust or are dry and take a lot of grease, I'd consider replacing them. Replacement is not a difficult task and can be done on a work bench. How's the weather in Alaska? We just got our first snow storm in lower NY state.

Also there should be a grease fitting on the shaft, pump some in there also.

Good Luck,

Thanks, I finally found some time to take care of this. Replacing the universal joints on the front drive shaft fixed it.

We haven't had a lot of snow here yet but its been decently cold. We've spent a good portion of the last few weeks with negative temps and today it did drop down to -21. We get most of our nasty weather late January through early March.

Thanks again!