front diff.
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front diff.
Probably a stupid question but I'm gonna ask anyway. First a little back story. Noise from the front drivers side only. would stop when i would slightly turn the wheel to the right. increases and decreases with the speed. Broke the ball joint on that side. While fixing noticed that the shaft going INTO the front diff was loose. gave'r a tug and it popped out... now i'm fairly certain that shouldn't happen. Question, was that the most likely culprit for my noise and how hard is it to fix. Ex. opening up the front diff and reinstalling a new c-clip? any info would help a great deal.
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From: Olathe, KS
You pulled the shaft out of the drivers diff? To pull out the axle as you descibed means the C-clip failed as you suspect. Not good.
The c-clip sits in a recess of the spider gear and is help there by the center pin. Curious if you have used the 4wd? If not don't til you open up the cover on the diff.
Definitely pull the cover to see what damage is there. Of course let us know.
The c-clip sits in a recess of the spider gear and is help there by the center pin. Curious if you have used the 4wd? If not don't til you open up the cover on the diff.
Definitely pull the cover to see what damage is there. Of course let us know.
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ok ... fair enough. 2 things is that the most likely culprit of the noise I've been hearing. and how's the difficulty rating on fixing that c-clip. I'm a boat mechanic and know I'm capable of the repair. Just never done it before. Any help, links to pictures, etc...... would be great
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From: Olathe, KS
sorry, did not have a decent camera and has misplaced the pics I took when mine was down. Will keep looking for them.
Repair is hard to say on the c-clip. couple ways it to have happened. And really depends on if the diff was enganged when it came apart. I suspect there is not mayhem cause you would not noticed when the ring and pinion started eating parts. If it just chewed up the c-clip, then a spider gear, c-clip and axle are your only concerns.
If the center pin came out (broken bolt), then you may have some carnage with the carrier. but this would likely result in holes in the case as the pin fell out. So I don't suspect that.
Just pulling the cover will allow you to all you need to see. But since the cover is part of the axle mounts, it may be best to plan a removal.
Whether the diff causing the noise or not, having the axle come out with a tug is major. Good that you discovered it now.
Repair is hard to say on the c-clip. couple ways it to have happened. And really depends on if the diff was enganged when it came apart. I suspect there is not mayhem cause you would not noticed when the ring and pinion started eating parts. If it just chewed up the c-clip, then a spider gear, c-clip and axle are your only concerns.
If the center pin came out (broken bolt), then you may have some carnage with the carrier. but this would likely result in holes in the case as the pin fell out. So I don't suspect that.
Just pulling the cover will allow you to all you need to see. But since the cover is part of the axle mounts, it may be best to plan a removal.
Whether the diff causing the noise or not, having the axle come out with a tug is major. Good that you discovered it now.
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could it have pulled the clip loose when the ball joint broke and the front end of the truck came down to the ground? when i looked at the end of the shaft. when i had it out the splines looked fine. no shavings or anything like that. so i'm hoping that's all that's happened.
