Is this a drive shaft problem ?

For the past week I have this intermittent squeaking sound during acceleration from 0 to 25mph, like a slipping belt or a pulley going bad. Once I hit 35mph the squeak turns to a rumble and the truck starts to vibrate, when this happens I slow down and this only happens when I have my foot on the gas if I'm coasting downhill at about 40mph there is no noise or vibration. So now I'm driving around town at like 30mph, thank god for city traffic. Going to take the day off tomorrow and try and figure it out, what do you guys think ?

 

does it vibrate under acceleration,if so does it stop[vibrating] when you take your foot off the gas?

 

Noise and vibration under acceleration only, everything is gone when I take my foot off the gas.

 

its probably your universal joints.

 

Is there anything I can do to pinpoint which one it is (bearing or universal joint) ?

 

craw under your truck and at the front of the rear drive shaft is the carrier bearing.try wiggleing it around.it will have a little movement but if its out it should move alot.that will eliminate that.to check u joint,try the power brake trick.u put it in gear,give it a little gas(dont floor it)and listen for a ping sound.try it forward and backwards without moving the truck.if u get a ping sound u got u joint problems.good luck

 

^^ Thanks, I'll do this tomorrow.

 

Well the drive shaft looks ok. My friend who was helping me suggested we do the same thing as pataco said, we even put the truck rear on stands and I accelerated to 50mph. No noise or vibration. Now I'm thinking it's bad tires, the squeaking sound could be a 'body noise' because of vibration from the tires. Gonna get some new tires on Monday.

 

ok, you guys were right. I had a mechanic put it up on a lift and he inspected the drive shaft and told me I need a u joint. The one to the front. Can someone cofirm this part number 04371‑04030 ?

 

When on a lift or jackstands, there's no load on the drivetrain, therefore can't duplicate the cause = noise.

 

How many miles did you have on your truck when you began having these issues? also, is your truck stock or lifted?

 

Next time all you have to do is grip the driveshaft and turn it. You'll know immediately. You shouldn't have any play whatsoever. Wiggling was a bad word for it I think, or he would have found it.

 

50k miles and my truck is stock.

 

Do you have the crappy rugged trails... they seem to cause probs when they wear down... (i.e bumpiness)

 

Wasn't the tires after I changed the u-joint everything was ok. Also when they removed the old u-joint it was missing a cap.

 

U-joints are sealed, they cannot be greased. At least on the PreRunners.

 

How much did he charge you to fix it?