Hi! I have a question about my 1995 F150 4x4's transmission. I guess I will just ask....
After you start the truck and try to put it into gear it makes a funny noise. it happens with all the gears. so i turned it off and tried then no problem. so i started it again and put the 4 wheel drive into neutral and the noise quit and it went into gear. could that be the transfer case? any help or opinions would be appreciated. My husband isnt a mechanic by no means. He seriously thinks its the transmission and the previous owner of the truck came by to take a look at it for me and she stated it was not the tranny that it was the transfer case. and she also said that all we had to do was to take the shaft out of the transfer case and it would be fine to drive until we can get it fixed. i guess i really didnt ask my question. can u drive the truck when u pull the shaft out of the transfer case? please help

 

oh BTW I did forget to mention that my husband pulled a 5th wheel trailer to a friends house in the hills. could this have contributed to the problem? he never mentioned any problems before him towing the trailer.

 

Does it do this in 4wd and 2wd? What is the noise like and where about is it coming from? Any vibration, etc. when it happens?

As far as pulling the shaft off, I assume you mean drive shaft. Which one are you pulling out? You can drive without the drive shaft in some cases, but if the problem is in the transfer case it may not do you any good.

 

the noise is coming from under the cab. it makes a sound like when u dont have the clutch in and trying to shift it, i guess its a grinding sound. no vibration.the shaft i was told to pull out is on drivers side, its short, and goes to a box in front end?! when u have the clutch in and in gear when u start to release the clutch it makes a noise but then when u put 4wd into neutral the noise stops when u release the clutch. the truck will move without making noise in 4wd neutral. i need to buy some time till tax time.
i dont have a lot of money to pay for a new or even a rebuilt tranny. i am starting of with the less expensive things. i seriously dont think (or want to think) its the transmission.

 

If it grinds when you shift while driving w/ the truck in 2wd or 4wd it could be that your clutch is wearing out, especially if you hauled a camper through the hills. I'm not sure what it costs a shop to replace a clutch. I would guess $300-400. But it doesn't sound from your reply that this is what is happening.

If it does it only when you let out the clutch already in gear then it could be many different things. If it only does it in 4wd and not 2wd, then it narrows it down a bit. If you were told that removing the front drive shaft would quite it, then it may be something as simple as a bad u-joint. They are a $20-30 part and can probably be put in by a shop for $100-150.

You can test the u-joint yourself. On a flat surface jack up the front end of the truck w/ the truck in neutral and NOT in 4wd. Make sure to block the rear tires or use your parking brake so it doesn't roll away. Go under the truck and look at the front drive shaft (goes from transfer case to front axle as you said in your reply). At each end of the shaft are a funky jount/knuckle that allows the drive shaft to bend and turn while bent. That's the u-joint. See if you can feel any play in the u-joints by pushing, pulling, twisting, turning, etc. You shouldn't be able to feel any play if the part is fine. It should be able to rotate without any scratching, grinding, etc. as well. If you feel it has play, that might be your problem. Check both u-joints. Good luck.