Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) rear end?

[BlakeDavis]

Okay, I only tear stuff up when I am doing something stupid, and this time I think it was my rear end. I have the factory limited slip rear end and I spun the right rear pretty hard (wide open 2nd gear) and the the left rear decided to spin. This would be perfectly fine except that after this low traction situation it seemed that the rear end didn't want to unlock. Whenever I turned the rear end would pop and bang and the inside tire would spin. Did I kill the rear end or did the LSD just get hot and sticky? Let me know what you think happened.



Another related question. At 103k the diff. oil probably needs changing anyway so I will try to get to that this week. I was thinking about just going back with the OEM oil from the dealer unless you can convince me to go with some thing else. What do y'all recommend?

 

[BlakeDavis]

no one has any ideas?

 

[BlakeDavis]

Ok, so i think things got a whole lot worse. I was coming back to school on yesterday afternoon, about 120 mile trip, and when pulled in my driveway and got out of the truck there was gear oil all over the rear end. It looked as though it came out of the vent tube and the center section of the rear axle was so hot you could not hold you hand on it. There are no loud noises coming from the rear end but should I anticipate a rebuild?

 

[SEwing]

try changing the diff fluid but make sure to check and see if you need to add some LS additive

 

[BlakeDavis]

yeah, i bought some additive and RTV from dodge today, gonna pic up some oil tomorrow and take a peek inside and hope it isnt full of shavings

 

[R-N-R]

Did it boil out?

 

[BlakeDavis]

i am not sure exactly what happened. All i know is that it was hot and there was oil everywhere, doubt I lost more than a handful, doesnt take much oil to make a huge mess.

 

[Alphacowboy]

I bet you blew up the spider gears! I blew mine up while doing donuts with 36" iroks on gravel. Pull the cover, i bet you grenaded the spiders, would almost bet money on it!

 

[BlakeDavis]

alphacowboy you were right, took the cover off today and five chunks of spider gear fell out. Priced around and the cheapest I could find was 1500 bucks. Looks like no more mods for me for a while. That was for a complete rebuild of the rear axle. rebuilt axle from jasper was 2900

 

[steved]

alphacowboy you were right, took the cover off today and five chunks of spider gear fell out. Priced around and the cheapest I could find was 1500 bucks. Looks like no more mods for me for a while. That was for a complete rebuild of the rear axle. rebuilt axle from jasper was 2900

Buy a detroit and rebuild it yourself... it isn't that difficult... even with the detroit, you'd be under a grand.



steved

 

[CumminsAholic]

Couldn't you just get new spider gears? Or aren't they avaliable? I'm taking mine apart this weekend, had oil spots over the tailgate when I pulled a trailer... I think it came from the rear diff as it's wet. Hopefully that's not it, but it sounds like it. Thing is I've driven it for a week like that. It hasn't leaked any more oil though.

Corey

 

[Hahn007]

I bet you blew up the spider gears! I blew mine up while doing donuts with 36" iroks on gravel. Pull the cover, i bet you grenaded the spiders, would almost bet money on it!

Alphacowboy, just curious as to how you knew it would be broken spider gears. Also how would this cause the extreme heat he found at the diff housing causing the oil to boil out? Sometimes I engage my front axle for the 42 mile trip home from work to keep things oiled and working properly, and once or twice I noticed gear oil had been pushed out of the vent hose. Should I be looking for problems in the front diff?



Thanks,

Chris Hahn

 

[steved]

Alphacowboy, just curious as to how you knew it would be broken spider gears. Also how would this cause the extreme heat he found at the diff housing causing the oil to boil out? Sometimes I engage my front axle for the 42 mile trip home from work to keep things oiled and working properly, and once or twice I noticed gear oil had been pushed out of the vent hose. Should I be looking for problems in the front diff?



Thanks,

Chris Hahn

IIRC, he had the same exact thing happen to him...



And FWIW, everything "turns" in the front of these newer truck... yes, even those with CAD... from parasitic drag. Albeit it might be slow, but they still turn several revolutions a minute... enough to keep things oiled/lubricated.



steved

 

[BlakeDavis]

it turns out the oil didnt come out of the vent. The rear speed sensor was busted and thats where it came from. i dont have the time or the tools to do it myself, thats why I am having it done. I drove it about 150 miles with metal floating in the oil and water because i drove around town for two days in the rain so it is getting all new bearings, a tone ring for the speed sensor, new ring gear and pinion. the only things staying are the axle shafts and the housing.

 

[CumminsAholic]

Did the speedo still work? You never mentioned that it didn't.

 

[BlakeDavis]

The speedo would quit for a little while and then the ABS and BRAKE lights would come on and it would go back to work, kinda like it was switching over and using the front wheels for speed, cause i know it wasnt using the back.

 

[BlakeDavis]

Update. Got the truck fixed yesterday and man did the insides look bad. Every tooth on the ring gear and pinion had a mark on it and several of the teeth had a chunk knocked out. The spider gears had completely disenigrated and almost knock a whole in the cover. Things were not pretty inside. Will try to get a few pics.