Archived Help! Rear end Explodes!

[BHaner]

Well to start with it is a 97 diesel 4x4 auto with a dana 70 rearend with 3. 5 and limited slip. I was on my way home from work when the truck started screeching and begen to slow by itself. The sound was coming from the rearend. Ihere was a small dent and crack on the left side of the cover. I drove home and took it apart to find the ABS tone ring mangled and what looks like the left side limited slip friction plate in chunks in the bottom of the rearend.



What are my options... . I found an open dif. unit for $800 but i really need the limited slip arround here. Anyone been down this road before? I have a limited ammount of money now so it looks like i will be driving something else for a while.



Any good ideas?

 

[Bob Wagner]

Check with TDR Member DiffDude

www.differentials.com sorry



They have alot of options

 

[MidwestMotorman]

Check eBay. The whole rears go for $100 to $300. Maybe you can find one near you. Then take the extra money you saved and get a locker



You might want to jack up the rear and spin the left tire. You might have had a bearing or brake go bad and the left side of the limited slip blew up due to heat overload. Could be WAY more stuff bad than the carrier.

 

[BHaner]

swap

how hard is it to swap to a dana 80? Will my springs work?



Just looking at all my options.



Thanks for the help so far!

 

[MidwestMotorman]

Hey



I sent you a pm.



I think the 80 is a direct swap. Just use the regular 2500 rims.

 

[pwknapp]

If I'm not mistaken the Dana 80 3/4 and 1ton are different lengths. Buddy broke down in Ariz and dealer got the wrong one and it did not fit. I could be wrong though.

 

[redramnc]

Dana 80 out of a dually has different drums than a single rear wheel Dana 80, may also have different size wheel studs. I could be wrong on the second-gen trucks but I think you will find that the tube length is shorter (or maybe longer, can't recall which) on a dually due to using offset rims to position the tires correctly in the wheel wells.



A Hollander's interchange book can tell you for sure. Also, the ABS rear axle assemblies go for quite a bit higher than the non-ABS axles due to the ABS reluctor on the ring gear. Last I heard a used rear axle for an ABS-equipped truck was going for $800 in the Raleigh area. I know a mechanic that changed one out for somebody because the cost of a new gear set and setup was much more than that.



Are any aftermarket gear companies cutting new gears for these or does D/C have the market by the gonads?

 

[Rammin On]

Bhaner .....



I have a dana 70 open diff ... . make me an offer ... .



Keith

 

[BHaner]

At this second I think my guy has found a complete rebuild for the inside of the limited slip (disks and gears). I am looking for the cheapest way to get back on the road for now and it looks like it.



Thanks to everyone for the help.

 

[BHaner]

Torque Specs

Does anyone know the torque specs on the carrier bolts (holding the limited slip together) I found every other torque spec on dodgeram.org but not this one.

 

[Rammin On]

Tighten them alternately to 65-70 ft. lbs. If the bolts have 7 radial lines or the # 180 stamped on the head ... . tighten to 90-100 ft. lbs.



Enjoy!



Keith

 

[fest3er]

Re: Torque Specs

Originally posted by BHaner
Does anyone know the torque specs on the carrier bolts (holding the limited slip together) I found every other torque spec on dodgeram.org but not this one.

According to my '98 SM, the bolts that hold the 'button half' to the 'flange half' should be torqued to 65-70 lb-ft. However, if the bolt heads have 7 radial lines or the number '180' stamped on them, they should be torqued to 90-100 lb-ft.

Fest3er

 

[BHaner]

Thanks! Looks good so far. I have the limited slip installed... now I am waiting for an ABS tone ring to come in from Portland, or. Hopefully all will be better Monday night. Oo.

 

[BHaner]

One more thing.

I finally got my abs tone ring, installed it, cleaned out the housing, and just as I thought I was home free... ... my dad comes down and says "you know you should really replace all the bearings while your in there. " I had not planned on doing so because they looked good, no wear, and i didn't want to setup the whole ring and pinion spacing thing. So here is my question... . should I replace them..... and if so how hard is it to setup the spacing? I know enough to take out the carrier and reinstall it (if I don't change the spacing) but I have never done the whole thing.

 

[Extreme1]

A couple things:

First, be sure you got all the junk out of the axle tubes.



Second, you can replace the bearings without going through the set up proceedure. The bearings are close enough (within a couple 1/10,000's of an inch) that if you put the shims back where they were, it will be fine.



Third, since you're this far into it, pop the hubs off and check the bearings in them too. Remember, a few light score marks or graying are grounds for replacement. Clean and check the races under a bright light as the rollers are really hard and don't show wear as well as the races.



As a final check you could check pattern and backlash after you're done with the replacements.

 

[BHaner]

good thing!

Good thing I decited to replace the bearings! When I removed the pinion the pocket under it was FULL of chuncks and flakes of metal. I think I will replace the wheel bearings as well just to have that "warm and fuzzy feeling" when I get done.



Thanks to everyone here and at Randy's Ring and Pinion Service (http://www.ringpinion.com) for all the help.