Well, I never got real chance to investigate to much. Wife decided the house needs to be a different colour

I did get underneath and played with the rear shaft. Seemed solid as a rock.

I didn't get to checking all the other stuff, but the issue does seem to be developing slightly. A similar noise happens under braking as it down shifts. And even with my slick throttle control I sometimes get it.

As it never did this when I got the car quite recently, I have to assume it's down to something I did during the high miles service. So,

Changed tranny oil to Valvoline Dexron III. Added Lucas tranny additive. Was full when I check ecked it about 2 weeks ago.
Changed transfer case oil. Was full to fill hole 2 weeks ago.
Changed diffs oil. Full at time of changing.
New front drive shaft. Not loose, or looking suspicious at all.

No fluid loss from underneath car at all.

Any further thoughts considering the effect is progressing to downshifting, and even smooth throttle control? I should give the issue an hour of my time tomorrow really.

 

Motor mounts and tranny mounts look ok. TRanny ones are a bit more hidden. But nothing looks amiss. Is there a way to test for sure?

Radius arm bushings look really solid. Little bit of play in the radius arm, bu only what the rubber will allow. I dont see anything there.

Again, the rear shaft seems really sold. Nothing looks out of place, everything tight.

I havnt got to the diff test yet. rolling the car a little bit and seeing what moves. Next job.

 

jack the front of the truck and spin the wheels slowly and see how far the wheels spin in each direction before the drive shaft start to turn.

 

Here is a video.

https://vimeo.com/110380663

This is with the front lifted, in neutral.

The movement of the wheel before the shaft moves doesnt seem outrageous. BUt when i 'clunk' the drive shaft back and forth it is very suspicious how it sounds like the clunk i'm experiencing.

It might be that this is normal take up, but it just seems a bit more 'hollow' than that.

[/has panic attack. goes to check front diff fluid is still there]

EDIT.

Yes, Diff has fluid.

Crawled further back, and the clank is definitely coming from between the back of the drive shaft and the front of the transfer case. AND i can get about 0.25-0.5mm of movement up and down from the back of the shaft. I'm geussing this means that the bearing is on the way out? Is it indicative of anything more sinister in the Transfer case? Could the bearing be causing the clank?

 

Iron right boot syndrome - lack of mechanical appreciation - most women suffer from it. Throttle pedal = switch full on and full off with no modulation. I'm speaking from personal experience and she is sitting in the lounge.

Most diffs on LR's have some backlash after a longish life and 100K miles, mine certainly does. I'm gonna pull the rear diff and check it out but it has a small amount of backlash and no metal fines in the oil or on the magnetic drain plug so it's probably OK as I checked out the pinion bearings from the flange side for play in them. The front and rear shafts are worth checking and greasing up also. The rear brake pads can also clunk when you change from D to R and back and the truck starts to move. There is a tiny amount of clearance between the brake pads and the caliper housing but the noise sounds far worse than it actually is.

 

I just replaced that front output bearing, and even with a brand new OEM bearing there's still a slight play that can be felt. With the right tools, it's pretty easy to replace it and make sure it's not a deeper problem. Not too expensive either.

Clank still there.