Noise...
 

I know I know everyone is thinking " Here we go another noise" but hopefully it is something simple and someone can tell me what it is, I am going nuts trying to figure it out..

I have a six speed and when I take off I hear a ping coming from the rear end.. It sounds like a sticking brake shoe in a drum, however I dont have drums... I have checked the u-Joints, pulled the diff cover and checked the bearings and ran a pattern on the ring and pinion, all looks good.. I have a friend who has the same year and set up that I have and he said his did it until he hit about 50k in mileage then it just went away.. Mine has 72k and it is still there..

Also one more thing.. .Most times it starts right up, but sometimes it cranks for 10 seconds or more.. I was told that this is a common problem-- Not sure I would classify that as normal but I just thought That I would check..

im by no means much of a tranny guy but if your pretty sure its not comin from the rearend you may wanna check your tranny i know the six speeds are bad about comin apart cant remember what exactly it is that comes apart like i said not a tranny guy but i rebuilt the 5 speed in my 01 myself and the tranny guy who helped talk me thru it said somethin about the 6 speeds comin apart. good luck man

dry U-joint

i cant point a finger at anyting specific but ive had u-joints that feel like they're good but when you take them off to see inside there's nothin but dry pins or powder in the cap....just sayin :humm:

I was afraid of that.. They feel tight and I didnt want to go there, but I guess I will change them out this weekend and hopefully that will take care of that annoying noise..

well if its the u joints atleast they are relatively inexpensive and easy to replace

Great answers on the U-Joint.. They were tight, but when i got them out they were dry as a bone..NO MORE PINGING NOISE..

Now I Have another noise, and I am having trouble finding it..I just installed Tuff Country 2.5" spring tops in the front end to level my truck out.. Now I have a popping sound in the front end..I drove around for about 2 weeks before this noise showed up. It keeps changing sides.. when I turn sharp right it pops on the right and when I turn sharp left it pops on the left.. This occurs at slow speeds, like trying to park in a parking spot.I have checked and Rechecked all my bolts in the front end..
It does not affect driveability in the least.. all of my steering components are tight..
Could the springs be shifting under the leveling kit? I marked the springs and pedestals to see if they are moving at all, and they have not moved one bit..

I dont know if anyone else has had this problem after installing a leveling kit.. But I thought I would throw this out there.. I am running out of ideas short of taking the leveling kit back out and trying a different brand..

Check your front axle ujoints, thats about the mileage I had to replace mine. Jack each front wheel up seperately, with the steering all the way to each lock spin the tire feeling for tight spots and listening for any noise.

I installed a kit on a chevy (I know IFS to straight axle but...)and the same problem showed up. I replaced the front shocks with 2" longer ones and that took care of it. Again just an idea