differential question. please help

Hello everyone, I have a 2wd MM and every time i accelerate from a stop I hear a LOUD PING!! And now when i am cruising i hear a metallic noise i dont know how to explain it. Anyways i checked my universal joints for play, one is good and the other not so good...but that is not what i am worried about , when i was rotating the driveshaft i discovered there was play in the diff. . so im wondering if anybody knows what the problem is? Do i have to replace the whole diff or iis there a piece I have to replace in the diff housing. Im not familiar with differentials. Any help is appreciated!

how much play and in which direction - side to side or in and out? Is the driveshaft 1 piece or 2 - if 2 the carrier bearing could be bad.

One piece. When i lift the drive shaft closest to the diff there is a tiny amount of play and i believe it is from the universal joint, but that is not what i am worried about. My worry is when i rotate the drive shaft there is play before the diff starts rotating. I've been reading about diff's and I learned that there is suppose so be a certain amount of play, but something is obviously wrong with my drive train because every time I acceleratei I hear a very loud pi ng.

did you check the level and condition of the oil in the rear end? How much play do you have when you turn the driveshaft, and do you get noise when you rotate it by hand? Is it an auto or manual?

A constant metallic noise sounds like a bearing. If you can get the truck up on a hoist, and, with the truck running, have someone operate the accelerator and brake for you, you could listen for your noises. You may never hear those noises turning the shaft by hand. I've had metallic noises come from rusty brake drums but its hard to pinpoint from the drivers seat.

Thank you guys for the help, i appreciate it! Ive been researching, diff noises and none of them match my noise. For example, my noise is a very loud ping. It sounds like a quarter hitting a post for a chain link fence. But everything i have read states the diff will make more of a "clunk" sound and not a ping. So I'm praying my diff is fine. I know my clutch needs to be changed, so I'm hoping the noise is coming from the clutch system and is replaceable .

1: Stop "guessing" what the problems might be. Stop "researching" probable failures. They are not specific to every single vehicle and they do not group everything into one cause.

2: You have found a problem - the U-Joint. REPLACE IT! The U-Joint will make all kinds of sounds and those sounds will echo and resonate within the driveshaft because its nothing more than a hollow tube. You can't diagnose multiple problems all at once. You must solve them one at a time.

3: Play in the diff (back and forth) is normal to a certain extent. It's called Backlash. You can't really get a feel for it by twisting the driveshaft if the u-joint is trashed because the driveshaft is moving more than it is supposed to anyway which creates an excessive "feel" for backlash. Technically, it's not even a recommended way to check it... at all.

Everything you described screams u-joint, especially since you confirmed it. It will ping and grind every time you roll. Replace the u-joint and follow up here if there is still a problem.

These are All great ways to check for the issue your having, Time to get down and dirty and try them. :)

I think the ping you are hearing is the bed you join. Sometimes they make a creaking noise to a loud ping. The creaking noise is normally more prevalent when starting out from a dead stop. The ping is from torque wind up on the drivetrain and that U joint has a broken bearing. Or is real dry on Grease.

I take it "bed you join" is some type of code for bad u-joint?

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Originally Posted by lush90

I take it "bed you join" is some type of code for bad u-joint?

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That's pretty good Lush, I would of never figured that one out for the life of me, :lmao:

You must have a book titled Camoit's Slang deciphered.

Merrill, your right. Its time to start the process of elimination. I have an exedy clutch kit already so i just need a u-joint, transmission gaskets, gear oil, and some ofmy buddies tools. Haha welli will let you guys know how it goes. I might take some pics along the way, if anyboy is interested. Its about time I get some pics on here! Anyways thanks again guys, and as always.....i appreciate it!!

Hey MrMitsu, I PM'd you but did the U joint's end up fixing the pinging noise or was it something else?