Noise when shifting into drive

[SavageC20]

Sometimes when I shift my truck into drive and then let off the brake and give it a little gas to move forward I hear a loud clunking noise, almost like a ding. It seems to be coming from the rear end. Once it makes the noise it will not do it again until I stop and put it in park and then drive and take off again. It is an intermittent issue. I have the original Dana 60 in the truck. Has anyone else come across this issue?

[HO455]

I would first check the ujoints for slop. Park on a level surface, block front wheels, put in neutral. Grab both yokes of to a ujoint and twist them. You should have zero play.
If this all checks out then twist the pinion yoke on the rear axle. It should have some play but not be excessive. You may have to look at some videos or get qualified second opinion if it is more than about 3/16 of play.

[sick472]

HO455 gives good advice. If you get through those checks without any bad signs, look at the transmission mount and engine mounts. U-joints are good for making a "ding", while mounts and rear diff are more of a "clunk".

[SavageC20]

Originally Posted by HO455

I would first check the ujoints for slop. Park on a level surface, block front wheels, put in neutral. Grab both yokes of to a ujoint and twist them. You should have zero play.
If this all checks out then twist the pinion yoke on the rear axle. It should have some play but not be excessive. You may have to look at some videos or get qualified second opinion if it is more than about 3/16 of play.

I replaced all of the u-joints when I bought the truck with spicer parts. There is no play in the u-joints. I believe there is a lot more than 3/16 of an inch of play on the pinion yoke. Does this mean the ring and pinion gears are worn out?

Motor mounts are fine as is the transmission mount.

[HO455]

It is possible that the ring and pinion are worn. But there are other components inside the rear end that likely have worn over time and each one is contributing to the play you are seeing. If you are not hearing any excessive whining or howling from the rear end I would not suspect the ring and pinion to be worn out. A trip to a competent rear end shop would find the answer.
I know when I had my rear end rebuilt I was amazed at how much quieter and smoother my truck was afterwards. Although truth be told mine was in the process of disintegrating when I took it in.

[AussieinNC]

Remove the driveshaft and add high small amount of temp grease to inside of yoke...
Replace driveshaft...

This "ding" is a common Chevy problem...the splines wear and develop small amount of excess clearance...the hollow driveshaft accentuates the sound...

There is a Service Bulletin that's been around for decades on this issue...

[SavageC20]

Originally Posted by AussieinNC

Remove the driveshaft and add high small amount of temp grease to inside of yoke...
Replace driveshaft...

This "ding" is a common Chevy problem...the splines wear and develop small amount of excess clearance...the hollow driveshaft accentuates the sound...

There is a Service Bulletin that's been around for decades on this issue...

I grease the slip yoke regularly and the noise is still there.

[SavageC20]

Originally Posted by HO455

It is possible that the ring and pinion are worn. But there are other components inside the rear end that likely have worn over time and each one is contributing to the play you are seeing. If you are not hearing any excessive whining or howling from the rear end I would not suspect the ring and pinion to be worn out. A trip to a competent rear end shop would find the answer.
I know when I had my rear end rebuilt I was amazed at how much quieter and smoother my truck was afterwards. Although truth be told mine was in the process of disintegrating when I took it in.

I'll take it over to a differential shop. If you don't mind me asking how much did it run you to rebuild your rear diff?

[hjewell2]

[quote=SavageC20;8510466]I grease the slip yoke regularly and the noise is still there.[/quote

[HO455]

Originally Posted by SavageC20

I'll take it over to a differential shop. If you don't mind me asking how much did it run you to rebuild your rear diff?

It was $1500 but as my posi carrier was breaking apart I had to get a new posi carrier and I decided to change the ratio from 3.07's to 3.73's since I had it apart. Oh and one axle had had a bearing go bad years ago and a repair sleeve was installed under the bearing, which wasn't a problem but I replaced that axle for piece of mind.
If I remember correctly the original quote was about $400 for all bearings and seals to be replaced

[joeydurango]

I had a noise that sounded very similar to your description - it was simply the u-joint at the rear diff. Easy fix to do yourself. I replaced the front u-joint while I was at it.

Mine didn't have any noticeable slop while twisting, and I actually missed finding the bad joint for a while because of this. I found mine was bad when I put it up on jackstands and put it in drive, accelerated, then let it coast while I watched it spin down... there was a definite noise from the rear u-joint. Shut the truck down and found that by applying lateral pressure on each of the u-joint's axes (each axis), I could get a little play from one of them that wasn't detectable if only twisting the joint. Replaced it and all's good.

[SavageC20]

Originally Posted by joeydurango

I had a noise that sounded very similar to your description - it was simply the u-joint at the rear diff. Easy fix to do yourself. I replaced the front u-joint while I was at it.

Mine didn't have any noticeable slop while twisting, and I actually missed finding the bad joint for a while because of this. I found mine was bad when I put it up on jackstands and put it in drive, accelerated, then let it coast while I watched it spin down... there was a definite noise from the rear u-joint. Shut the truck down and found that by applying lateral pressure on each of the u-joint's axes (each axis), I could get a little play from one of them that wasn't detectable if only twisting the joint. Replaced it and all's good.

I'll try the same thing with mine to see if I can find any play in it. The u-joints I have in it only have 1000 miles on them but who knows could be defective or something.

[jocko]

Originally Posted by SavageC20

I replaced all of the u-joints when I bought the truck with spicer parts. There is no play in the u-joints. I believe there is a lot more than 3/16 of an inch of play on the pinion yoke. Does this mean the ring and pinion gears are worn out?

Motor mounts are fine as is the transmission mount.

If you can wiggle the pinion yoke laterally a very noticeable amount by moving the tail end of the driveshaft side to side, it is likely the pinion bearing that needs to be replaced. The ring and pinion gears are probably still fine.