My truck is making a VERY slight ticking sound. Can especially hear it 15 mph and slower. Does not matter if I am driving or coasting or braking, turning or going strait.

My guess is that the front axle u-joints are going bad, but how do I check. The truck has 107K miles and neither the hub bearings or u-joints have been replaced.

 

Are the u-joints nice and rusty colored, along with the steering knuckle? Put it in 4x4 and turn a corner. Is the clicking worse?

Look closely at the joint. Are there any cracks in the caps where the cross enters the cap?

Jack it up and rotate the wheel back and forth. Is there any slop in the joint? Is there any play in the hub itself? That can be a problem as well.

At 107K you're about due. I did one side at 90Kish miles, and just did side two at 104K. The hubs were bad as well. I've got a theory that as the u-joint fails the metal powder that's generated as it destroys itself gets into the hub past the seal and takes the hub out too. It's just too coincidental that the hub and joint failed at the same time on both sides.

 

Check all the U-joints.

 

My 3 yr bumper to bumper expires tomorrow, had the truck checked out, they changed the front axle u-joints, only 56k km on them, I didn't notice them going though.