Well, it's looking more like doughnuts than dollars here.
I went out and jacked up and removed the right rear wheel. Left the parking
brake on so the rear wheels couldn't move. Got underneath and jerked the
drive shaft back and forth. Seemed like quite a bit of play. Not in the
u-joint, but at the output of the differential. Also, each jerk was
accompinied by a "plink" sound coming from the vicinity of the differential.
I'm guessing many of these "plinks" together make the jingle sound I am
hearing while driving.
Oh, also it needed a bit of oil. I filled her up and took a test drive, but
no improvement.
This leads to a few more questions:
How much play in the drive shaft is normal?
How long do I got doc?
Should I replace it with used or rebuilt or try to rebuild it myself?
If I go with a used unit, how do I assess its condition?
Thanks everyone for the help.
- Hugh Fader
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