Front axle play

to all
I noticed some play by where the axle connects to the differential (Left side). I wanted to see anyone had the same issue in the past.

Took my truck to the dealership due to my alignment always been off, and they ended up replacing the right axle. However, the left axle has lots of play.
Should I consider to bring the truck back?

 

Look in to this bushing swap...

https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-1...amshell-bushingeliminates-needle-bearing.html

I've done the bushing swap on my '13 and it was super simple. Took some time get things torn down, but pulling the needle bearing and driving in the new bushing was the easier part of the job. Quieted things down.

 

is it the same on a 2018 model?

 

Yes. 07-21 are the same.

 

Perfect

another question
How much play should be on those axles where it connects to the differential,
I see that my left axle can go up and down easily about .200" to .300" of travel

 

How does the axle impact the alignment? Wheel or hub bearing, yeah, but axle as in CV axle was replaced to correct alignment?

 

I read the OP’s post as ‘while the truck was there for an alignment, they replaced the right side axle as a separate matter’. But maybe I misunderstood, in which case I would also question it.

 

Axle play vibration is detrimental to the bolts causing them to rotate with time. This is due to a prolong drive which increase the exposure of the lower control arm hardware to vibration

 

I mostly remain a skeptic as I would think that if there is that much vibration one would fix it long before it cranked the cam tab bolts loose.

 

Bolts dont get loose enough to come out of the housing, but it gets loose enough to make the camber and toe to move which end up messing up the alignment

 

So now I'm supposed to believe that tie rod length is also being affected by worn CV joints causing extreme vibration? Damn, guess the truck travels much like a pogo stick then.

 

Don’t overlook the damage bad muffler bearings can do to a motor, either. I had a buddy that had to completely redo the specs for his inline on the rotary girder due to some bad muffler bearings. Thing was nuts.

 

I started by replacing the wheel bearing and wheel hubs. That did not remove the vibration, consequently to that, I replaced inner and outer tie rods, and stabilizer links. Follow to that, replaced both lower controls arms, which made the front end to be a bit more firm, but the vibration continued. Took the truck to the dealership and they replaced the right axle under warranty, however, the vibration and alignment still an issue. Ended up finding out the vibration is coming from the left axle due a needle bearing to be worn out. ECGS offer a good deal to replace the bearing with CNC bushing that resolves the vibration instantly.

 

Glad you finally figured it out!