Is this a normal amount of play. I had a shop install 4.58s about 5000 miles ago and I’ve got a rattle in the front when the car is in 2wd, but goes away when the accelerating or engine braking in 4wd.

When I was inspecting the front end the ball joints need to get replaced for sure so hopefully that’s the sound but just curious what the collective says about the amount of rotation play.

ignore the dirt it was right after we got home from the trails.


thanks

 

Generally yes, your DS is going to rotate like that due to the backlash. Given that backlash is down to the thousandths of an inch type thing, there's no way you're ever going to tell the difference between proper or improper backlash in gears via the driveshaft like that. Bad BJs ususally aren't something that will make an audible noise while driving, but stranger things have happened so I wouldn't say it's impossible that is the source. When in 2WD it still rattles all the time, even under acceleration or engine braking??

Any way to record the rattle as it's happening?

 

Looks ok as Resharp said. Hard to tell what the backlash is without precise measuring tools. Oil level ok in there? One thing you could do is jack both sides off the ground and rotate the wheels to listen for noise - how I discovered my rear axle bearings are going south but no oil leak yet.

 

I've got it torn apart doing front ball joints right now, but I'll record it afterwards if it's still there.

When in 2wd whatever it is rattles going over bumps, and it rattles in 4wd if the driveline isn't really loaded, but if you load it up some accelerating or engine braking it gets quiet.