Drivetrain slack - Is rearend going bad?

Drivetrain slack - Is rearend going bad?

08-20-2004, 06:37 AM

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GCrowl

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Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 10

Drivetrain slack - Is rearend going bad?

My 2004.5 truck is starting to clunk when I slack up on the throttle, and then apply throttle again. I have 6500 miles on it, and never heard the noise previously - it was tight. I crawled under the truck and found that the rear differential has about 3/8" of slack when I move the driveshaft back and forth.
The question is: Is this normal for this type of differential, and what is the normal amount of slack one should should expect? It sounds very crappy, and I hope this is not something, like the pinging engine, that is "normal" for this vehicle. My 1995 CTD, which I still own, is looking better all the time.

2004.5,CTD, Quadcab, 2500, 4x4, 3:73, 6 speed.

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