Aluminum Drive Shaft Noise?

[Steve Braverman]

This is not antique car related, but I thought I'd ask anyway. I recently bought a Dodge Dakota with the 4.7 V8 and 2WD, and it makes strange clicking or snapping noises when going from reverse to forward. The dealer tech tells me it's the aluminum drive shaft, and that they all do that. I thought it was neat when I looked under the truck and saw the big shiny drive shaft, and I wondered why they would use such a thing on a truck. I've seen them on Corvettes and other high performance vehicles, but never on a truck.

So my question is: Why use an aluminum drive shaft, and why do they make noises?

[Guest simplyconnected]

Your dealer is used to hearing his aluminum siding snap in direct sunlight. Think about it... the shaft never moves. If it distorted, it would sound like an aluminum bat when it hits a baseball (P I N G)! Otherwise, the noise is produced by your drivetrain, including any U-joint slop or gear backlash.

Hold your foot on the brake, and shift fwd, rev, fwd, rev... If you hear a clunk, take it to a good 'transmission and gear' shop for evaluation.

[mastertech]

they use it for weight reduction. shouldent make any noise not real sure but i think there is a tsb for the noise. If not your dealer can call star hot line for help.

[Steve Braverman]

I was told not to worry about it. It is not a horrible noise, but I hear it.