Been hearing a clicking/popping sound coming from the front axle while under load and accelerating from a stop. Pulled the wheel off to try and confirm my CV suspicions. Was wiggling the wheel and hub around and Theres basically no play fore/aft, up/down, in/out (wheel bearing is good). Some play in the steering direction (worn out tie rod end - later problem). Lots of play rotationally (ah ****). Tried to trace the play and the CV is fine. The diff is fine. U joint on the front driveshaft, transfer case side has a ton of slop. I had checked this maybe 1000 miles ago and it was fine. Tom woods double cardan front with grease fittings. Regularly greased (or as long as I have owned it). While I was under there I noticed the transfer case mount was really flexed out (I replaced this 1000 miles ago). Figured maybe the engine mounts were worn and the transfer case was taking up the load. Engine mounts were very ****ed. Seems like best course of action is to replace the front driveshaft and all the mounts at the same time. Question is, can worn out drivetrain mounts lead to accelerated wear of the front driveshaft U joints. I feel like the engine and transmission bouncing around when accelerating might but I was curious if anyone else has noticed a correlation?

 

As someone who has bent a transmission pan and had 2 separate occasions where the entire drive train broke loose, replace the engine AND transmission mounts together. Try and avoid Britpart. I've had 2 defective mounts from them. I had one fail as I was installing it (cleaned the overspray with a nut, and it broke the stud off inside the rubber part), so 1,000 miles doesn't seem unrealistic.

You may be able to tell how much rotation and movement your drivetrain had by checking for wear on the fan shroud, any small holes/rips in your hood liner, and ofc by revving in park it to visually see how much its moving. The way I found out my engine was loose was a good old upwards dent in my hood.

I'm also dealing with a front driveshaft squeak and partially broken mounts, and a double cardan drive shaft. Hoping to look further into it tomorrow or this week.