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rear differential rebuild...

7K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  gramol 
#1 ·
Thats what I will be doing this weekend.

the previous owners of the R/T did alot of muddin and offroad activity and never changed out the fluid in the rear diff.

Its been "hanging up" in reverse and I am afraid to even drive her anymore so i will be doing a teardown and re-build.

I think the pinion gear is shot. ( just a guess)

no wonder I got this thing so cheap...

I called our local dodge dealer for kicks to see what their price is without side bearings just the gears and pinion is 700. bucks..in just parts..

I was like WOW!
I have to get it done before winter.

yippee another project...

Julie*
 
#2 ·
I just had my ring and pinion swapped to 4.56:1 ratio and the local drivetrain shop charged me $750 parts AND labor.
 
#3 ·
Julie:

Given that history, I would go over that D with a fine toothed comb, and make sure that it gets what it needs.

You can get those parts for much less. Look on Ebay under Drivetrain and Suspension. Frequently, you will find a an OEM master kit which has the ring, pinion, shims, crush sleeve, bearings and everything else you need to do a complete rebuild.

My bet is that he got water in the axle, and did not flush it out and replace the lube after doing so. Water and oil do not mix, and water is a very poor lubricant.

How many miles on the rig???

Trans, t case, and both axles should get new fluids every 30k. Spark plugs also have a 30k interval, as well as the cooling system being flushed and refilled.

One important note: A plain old drain and refill is the preferred service for the tranny. many folks want to sell you a flush, but some folks have suffered tranny destruction soon after due ton crap being dislodged and wreaking havoc inside.

Since you have the R/T, you have the 3.92 gears and the limited slip rear end. The LS units are known for breaking the clips that hold the clutch packs together. This could also be your problem.

Don
 
#4 ·
This is Julies son typing...

I am tearing into her axle to fix it and I got it diagnosed to be the trac-loc clutches are SEVERELY worn. She went and picked up replacement clutches and during the install I've come to the conclusion that 1: I don't EVER want to do this again. 2: it seems as if on of the clutch discs "dropped" out of position to keep the spider gears from sliding all the way back into there proper position. I checked the replacement clutches and they match up. They have the same amount of discs. It's only about 1/32 of an inch out on each side. (As if there were to many clutch discs in the pack) I have tried and tried for about 4 hours now to get this thing back together and I can't get past this point.

I just did the same thing with my 94 Jeep Grand Cherokee and didn't have nearly this much trouble with it.

Any help would be VERY appreciated! Thanks in advanced!
 
#5 ·
Julie's son:

Since I have not performed this operation myself, I will defer to those who have. I am sure someone will chime in with a fix.

I can see the clearance being less since the new clutches are full width. Don't know why though that it won't go back together.

Don
 
#6 ·
Yea, I thought the same thing. Clearance would be tight, but not THIS tight. I tore it all back apart again to double check everything and it was ok. At this point I can only work on it for a few minutes then give up because this just pisses me of to no end.

-Ryan
 
#7 ·
without holding the computer up the the diff it's hard to help but from this end..................i would probably try to adjust the preload on the side gears..........there are retainer clips on both sides and collars that turn............common sense says to back off preload in equal amounts until clutches can be installed...........than set preload to spec and lock them down................don't rush out and do this just yet........wait for a few others to chime in.................i do electrical diagnosis all day.........haven't had too many diffs apart in the last few years...........just going by memory............good luck
 
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