2001 2500 rear axle slop

[Dieselisbetter]

Good morning everyone.

Stan here from Dallas,Tx

Anyone dealt with the rear end slop issue?

2001 Ram extended cab shortbed, 24 valve 6 speed.
Has the massive dana 80 rear axle with drums, 3,54 ratio 46/13 on the ring gear.

Hauled a trailer the other day and could feel the slop more so than ever.

Over the weekend I removed the carrier.
Ring gear teeth look flawless along with pinion as well.
No play in pinion gear and no forward or back play in pinion gear.
Spider gears all look great, with zero wear and they all still have perfect form and shape.

The clutch packs which by the way there were 12 disc on the passanger side of carrier and 10 disc on driver side of carrier looked ok with just one disc that was shattered and one cone disc had a fracture.
Splines on drive axles to carrier are fairly tight with hardly any play, all splines and groves look full with almost zero signs of were.

U joints and carrier are all nice and tight as well.

Any suggestions as to where the slop could be coming from?

 

[Ozymandias]

Maybe a broken leaf spring, that would feel very similar as it would allow more axle movement.

 

[GCroyle]

Manual trans or auto?

 

[Dieselisbetter]

Leafs are good. Thank you.

Manual 6 speed.

If Forrest were still with us I would simply pick up the phone and call him.

RIP Forrest.

 

[GCroyle]

Ok manual. Can you describe the when I do this, the truck does XXXX?

 

[Dieselisbetter]

Yes

While driving at 40mph or any speed for that matter and to let off the accelerator there is a noticeable amount of time before there is a pull.
For example get in and vehicle and get going 65 mph and let off the pedal then get back on the pedal and there should be minimal "play" in driveline.

For me in my Ram at 70mph to let off then count to 5 then give throttle again to maintain speed there is a gap or amount of play in the driveline before everything engages again.
The problem has been narrowed down to the rear differential at this point.
The rear diff has been marked for proper index upon reassembly and the entire carrier has been removed and disassembled.

Broke off two axle hub bolts in the passenger side hub and had to order another hub.


While cleaning the ring gear and carrier parts in part washer the other day 3-6-2022, it was discovered that the trac lok cross bar that the spider gears ride had a minimal amount of scoring, enough so that it was cause for alarm for me. The spider gears need to be seated well in order to hold in place when the limited slip is being utilized by "ice, dirt, or simply making a turn where the rotation is conflicting with the speed of the opposing tire.

Any how picked up a Ford Dana 80 spider gear set Spicer part number 2003857 which I have read that was once at a time sold not only for the F350 models but was also sold for 1998 to 2002 Dodge Rams. The only difference I can see visually is the splined axle shaft spiders are not cut as deep which means they will not be able to hold as many Clutch disc or pucks if you will.


Still researching and doing what I can to teach myself about this stuff.

Parts are getting harder and harder to find these days.
Actually spoke with a Dana rep and they were saying certain parts would not be available until July.

Just kind of trying to bounce ideas and take in whatever advice anyone else is willing to offer.

Hopefully this article my dilemma will help someone else down the road.

 

[Ozymandias]

Try www.torqueking.com

Usually they are stocked pretty well.

Did you check the motor and trans mounts?

I've a hard time to believe that you have that much slack in your differential and find "nothing" at disassembly. I was using lunch box lockers in the past and they are notorious for a lot of slack, almost half an inch at the carrier* but even that much does not sound what you are experiencing.

*even that much slack just took a split second to wind up, no more. Just a short, good to hear, CLAC was all that it made.

 

[NIsaacs]

Try www.torqueking.com

Usually they are stocked pretty well.

Did you check the motor and trans mounts?

I've a hard time to believe that you have that much slack in your differential and find "nothing" at disassembly. I was using lunch box lockers in the past and they are notorious for a lot of slack, almost half an inch at the carrier* but even that much does not sound what you are experiencing.

*even that much slack just took a split second to wind up, no more. Just a short, good to hear, CLAC was all that it made.

I agree, that's a lot of slop for a rear axle. The torque springs in the clutch disk will give a slight amount, if they are broken/collapsed.

 

[BigPapa]

I’ve used Randy’s Worldwide a lot, especially when I was at the truck shop. They’ve never steered me wrong.

https://www.randysworldwide.com/