Ford 4610SU rear axle clunk

Last weekend I was doing some brush hogging, I normally wear ear plugs when doing this, so don't hear some sounds. When I got done I parked the tractor for the day. A few days later I wanted to move the tractor as well as disconnect the brush hog.

I didn't use ear plugs because I was just moving it a short distance. When I started driving, not only did I hear a clunk in the LH rear axle, but I could feel it as well. It was a pretty good metallic clunk, once per revolution of the rear tire. I was driving with the brush hog's rear wheel down, I thought maybe that was it, so I lifted it completely off the ground, that didn't resolve the clunking sound.

Next I tried engaging/disengaging the differential lock, still hear/felt the clunk. Then I slammed on the brakes a few times, still had the clunk. I drove to where I wanted to drop off the brush hog, so I removed it and did a test drive, the noise was gone.

I don't think this was a noise that had anything to do with the brush hog, the PTO was off, and it didn't feel/sound like a noise coming from the lift arms or anything like that.

I can't replicate the noise now, and I guess it has me a bit freaked out as to what it could be. It really did sound/feel like a deep mechanical/metallic clunk coming from the LH rear axle housing.

Any ideas?

Check the rim to center bolts on the rear wheels first as one or more may have come loose. This is the easy cheap quick fix. The other possibility is rear wheel bearing...
Hopefully it's the first possibility.

Thanks for the ideas. I did have the rims off the centers a few years ago when playing with the wheel backspacing, I'm sure they are tight but definitely worth a check.

9 times out of 10 this type of a noise can be traced to loose rim to dish bolts. Those rear ends are way too stout to be giving any kind of trouble, short of running it out of oil.

What Bern Said!!!! loose hub or dish bolts... If you cant find the loose ones, loosen and retighten all of them. Its usually more than one that is loose.

Thanks guys, I hope it's that simple!

agreed, look their first. found the clunk on my 4000 was PA rims loose.

Bingo!

Rod