Hi Everybody,

I am experiencing a grinding sensation, which I thought was to do with my driveshaft, but have confirmed that it is coming from inside my front differential. It only occurs at higher speeds (highway), and only when I release the throttle. I have confirmed that I can feel it at speeds above 70km/h. When I release the throttle immediately, I notice a short (but quite noticeable and audible) vibration/grinding sensation. I also realized that if I slowly release the throttle to right before I reach 0% throttle, I can actually cause the sensation for a prolonged period (as long as I keep the throttle in that position).

I replaced the front diff oil just a couple weeks ago, and it was free of any noticeable debris. The pinion has no play in it as far as I can tell. Last year I replaced the front right (passenger side) axle seal, as it was sweating oil. Since then, I have noticed that it has started to sweat oil again. This leads me to believe that something is moving about within the diff housing more than it should, leading to increased axle play which is causing the seal to become defective.

Does anybody have any idea what could be going on within there? I feel as though I shouldn't be doing much driving with the vehicle while this is occurring..

I had eventually planned on re-gearing my diffs as a part of my ongoing off-road modifications, and potentially even adding lockers (from Lucky 8). At $1178 a piece for the 4.10 Gears and Detroit True Trac system (with prices increasing for Detroit Lockers at $1268 and ARB Lockers at $1548), does it make sense to replace whatever the problem to be now, or just go ahead with my diff replacement? Additionally, would I be able to replace just one of the diffs, or would I have to do both so that the gearing was the same? I had a rough estimate given to me by my mechanic to be around the $2000 mark, but that was without knowing anything about what was going on from within the diff housing.

What are everybody's thoughts?

Thanks very much!

John

 

John, PM me your number and I'll call you to discuss your options.

 

You might as well just get lockers and gears from Justin at Lucky 8 now and get it over with.

OR if you're feeling cheap you could just swap in a 3rd member from one of the parts guys on the forums.

 

Shipping to Canada lockers will cost more than the truck is worth.

 

Well if I get them from Justin I just drive down to his place in NY and pick them up. However if I go through Great Basin Rovers, it will be slightly more expensive. I can't imagine it'll be much more than the springs I bought from California, and that was totally acceptable!

 

UPDATE

So I think I'm going to replace the driveshaft and the diffs. I plan on going Detroit Tru-Trac 4.10 diffs, and a double-cardan style driveshaft, both from Great Basin Rovers.

In speaking with Bill, he indicated that it wasn't ultimately necessary to adjust the pinion angle at the front for the double cardon driveshaft. I have read everywhere that it is supposed to be done, but he explained that in my situation it wasn't thaat big of an issue. What I would like to know is if anybody else is running the same driveshaft (or similar) without adjusting the pinion angle. If so, do you experience much highway vibrations? Are they serious? Additionally, if I go this route, how difficult would it be for me to adjust the pinion angle in the future, if I really felt it was needed?

Thanks!

 

What diff are you using for the rear along with your new 4:10 gears.

 

I had planned on true tracs front and rear, all from GBR