Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Rear End Trouble

[NHays]

How hot should the differential housing get while driving empty less that 10 miles. I recently(5000 miles) put a new ring and pinion and new bearings. it gets hot enough that I cannot hold my hand on it any longer than about two seconds. and then driving down the highway with an empty 1600lb flat bed it gets a little hotter than that but not fried. I was driving at 50-60 mph. could I have set bearings to tight. and does anyone know where I can get used axles with 4:10 gearing in oklahoma. and what are some symptoms of a failing limited slip. I get this weird thrusting bumping noise and feeling when turning really slow or starting while turning.

 

[Graphic man]

did you set up the back lash when you installed the new ring and pinion?

 

[TAbbott]

How hot should the differential housing get while driving empty less that 10 miles. I recently(5000 miles) put a new ring and pinion and new bearings. it gets hot enough that I cannot hold my hand on it any longer than about two seconds. and then driving down the highway with an empty 1600lb flat bed it gets a little hotter than that but not fried. I was driving at 50-60 mph. could I have set bearings to tight. and does anyone know where I can get used axles with 4:10 gearing in oklahoma. and what are some symptoms of a failing limited slip. I get this weird thrusting bumping noise and feeling when turning really slow or starting while turning.

I doubt there's anything wrong at all. You can't hold your hand on something that's at 140 degrees. It's not really hot unless you throw water on it and it sizzles, kinda like an iron and touching it with a moistened finger. Mineral oil gear lube is effective 'til 250 degrees where it starts breaking down. Synthetic much higher. Check the lube and see if it's turned black. If it has, maybe you have a problem, but if not, it's probably normal. The weird bumping you mention means you probably need limited slip lube in the diff or perhaps an additive added to the current lube.

 

[SPatyna]

REG: rear end trouble

I tend to agree with TAbbot about friction modifyer added to rear end. I have a94/SLT-70,000 original miles 2wd/ i am original owner. My truck did the same thing when brand new after i switched to amsoil gear lube, i suspect not enough slip additive. It would only do it on short radius turns going very slow. Since then i have installed 4:10 gears as i pull a 10,500lb. Arctic fox fifth whl. my truck is auto/265-16 rubber. My mechanic shot the rear end with a heat sensing gun after a highway run an said it was showing around 130 deg. which he exclaimed was very cool compared to some of the trucks he tested for axle heat. By the way i also run amsoil in the newly setup rear/ as well as trans / and engine. Mechanic stated he added two of the additive size bottles to the rear saying that one wouldn't do the job. Hope this helps. --------SPatyna-------94SLT/2wd/#10 bd plate/K@N/ no cat/ walker super turbo/autometer pyro/boost/trans/29#boost@wot

 

[NHays]

Well thanks for the replys. I will check temp tuesday a few times. I will get back to ya. I think i will change over to full amsoil. I am running a Lucus mix right now, originally when I broke into the diff i noticed that the previous owner had all the clutches and pressure plates separated. So it acted like an open diff almost. I wonder why they set it like that. I returned it back to full friction and it was fine, did not notice any bumping around. Then I replaced ring and pinion and it started doing it(but i also had LSD apart and new oil). I have checked backlash and pattern twice and they are good. However I think that something might be bent because one side of the ring might be . 010-. 012 and the other is like . 003-. 004. now explain that one to me. I plan on rechecking everything when I change lube some time later in month.

PS. anybody have a good deal on a transfer case, I was crawling around under truck and noticed that in four wheel drive without the front drive shaft hooked up I can rotate flange about an 8th of a turn before it stops, Rear off the ground and drive shaft does the same thing, however that one gets worse the higher the transmission is shifted... best in first, worse in fifth. so do i start to look for trany, transfer or both. :{

 

[NHays]

I took some temp readings and have a list of hot temps, I looked at oil and had a nice mix of oil and metal dust/ specks. changed out oil. GL5 limited slip, going to do it again next weekend to clean out old. Gears had good pattern and proper backlash, bearings were fine also, I forgot to change the new oil after I put the new gears in. I will have to get back and see what happens next weekend.



Now for the other matter, I need some input on my transfer-case and transmission. What do you think is the problem there. do I need to get new T-Case.