rhythmic popping when i turn....humming on highway

[kodiak1232003]

ok...two issues i've arrived at...

1. during slow speed turns there is a pop or thunk from drivetrain, if im moving forward it happens once a second...thunk,thunk,thunk and only when turning...u-joimt, right? i looked at em...they seem ok...can they look fine and still be worn?
also...is there a good write up on a d44 u-joint removal? never done one

2. driving on freeway...if i make a banking right turn...there is a humming not unlike tread noise. if i let off on the turn a bit(like i was gonna change lanes) it goes away suddenly and comes back just as suddenly, when i resume the turn. bearings? knuckle ball joints? again, never done bearings on a 44, so tips or a write-up would be groovy.

thanks

[ October 28, 2005, 02:45 PM: Message edited by: kodiak1232003 ]

[Stu]

do you have lockout hubs on the front? if so does it make both noises when hubs are unlocked and transfer case is in 2wd? if it does then ujoints aren't your problem, because they shouldn't be spinning. second one sounds kinda like bearings, or maybe a warped rotor. my silverado does that, and it has a prolonged brak problem that fries my calipers, and they stay half engaged all the time. i think it warped another rotor, and i get kind of a grinding noise that continues even on highway. sounds kinda like what i think you're describing. and yes, ujoints can be bad even if they look fine on the outside. to really know you need to take them out and pull the caps off. they can be dry or having broken/missing needles and still look ok on the outside. as for ball joints, if you jack up your front axle and try to wiggle your tire on the verticle axis (so it goes like this \ or / instead of | looking at it from the front of the vehicle) you have a ball joint problem. but they've got to be REALLY bad before that will happen. a more expirienced mechanic could prolly tell you a better way to tell. i just let the guys at the alignment shop tell me usually :-p hope that helped some

[J10Mike]

with a 79 and if you have a quadratrac tc, i'm betting the humming noise is a spindle bearing. further, if an axle joint was getting worn, it may have placed more pressure on the spindle bearings during turns.

[kodiak1232003]

thanks for the replies....so i think i'll just replace the ujoints cause they look like the originals..lol

mike, thats what i was thinking too...is that particular bearing pressed in? or can i get it out myself?

[J10Mike]

i tried like heck to get mine out. i eventually bit the bullet and took both spindles to a auto parts place that had a press and let them do it.
i think they charged me like $7.50 per spindle to remove the old and press in the new. that did not include the cost of the spindle bearings though.

[shredby4]

By the way, U-joints can both feel and look fine and still be bad.

Check your tranny mount too. A bad one can cause all sorts of noises you'd never suspect coming from there.