Towing vehicle rear end!

[bassarama]

Coming back from a fishing trip last Sat. my Dodge pickup truck started making “read end noises” *;D ;D

No no, not those noises from the rear end you're thinking *:o :o *

Well… let me explain, the rear end of my truck has been troublesome for a while now, after a big bill repair it never came back the same, so the mechanic repaired one thing and 700 bucks later I inherited a high pitch noise for free, literally (got my dough back) . For two years now I’ve been dealing with this noise, with the rear end’s life expectancy very low I’ve been maintaining it a bit better changing the oil every 4th motor oil change, +- 15k miles.

So, last Sat. I though I lost the darn thing for good, while pulling the V up the driveway it grinded so bad that I didn’t run it since. I had a couple of days to browse around and actually found a 56k mile used rear end for 850 bucks.

Curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to open her up before picking up the newer axle and to take some graphic mechanical pictures, after all I expected gear pieces all over in the housing.

The good news is this, no additional damage.WTF! :-/ :-/

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q297/bassarama/Dodgerearendat80kmiles.jpg

Notice how few particles were on the bottom?

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q297/bassarama/Dodgerearend2.jpg

Yeeeehaaaa :o *I just save 850 bucks minus the oil change and a Sam Addams Light to celebrate! ;D ;D

A couple of quarts of synthetic 75w-90 and 7 oz of limited slip oil, she’s ready to go again.

I talked to a pro mechanic who happens to be a friend and he advised me to change the rear end oil and additive more often, especially when towing long distances ( like me) whether the axle is noisy or not.

From now on, I’ll do mine every 10k miles, it takes me approx. an hour including a Sam Addams break ;)

To me it's cheap insurance.

Joe

[THEFERMANATOR]

1500 I take it? Looks like the infamous CHRYSLER 9 1/4 to me. Used to rebuild 1 or 2 of those a month when I worked at a dealership. Check to make sure the carrier is solid with no side to side movement. Carrier bearings go out in these when the bearing pre-load isn't set correctly. It will make the grumbling grinding sound you describe if this happens.

[bassarama]

Check to make sure the carrier is solid with no side to side movement.

Can you give me details on that?

Thanks

[THEFERMANATOR]

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q297/bassarama/Dodgerearend2.jpg

Set your E-brake and put the tranny in neutral, the gear that you are pointing at is atatched to the carrier. Check it for side to side movement with a screwdriver or small prybar. But be ABSOLUTELY! certain not to hit the tone wheel(The one that looks like a gear with teeth going outward), this will mess up your speedo and ABS if do hit it. You should also while your there check the pinion for movement as well. Where the U-joints atatch try and move that yoke up and down or side to side. This will give you a rough geusstimate of how much bearing slack you have. You don't want much slack if any, they should actually have tension on them to prevent them from moving around but after a few miles drivin they tend to loosen up. Also while your there see how far you can turn the ring gear before it contacts the pinion. Just make sure there is no tension on the driveline when you check the bearings and such for slack as it will make them seem tighter than they actually are.

[spareparts]

Ferm, I've been looking for a Dana for my Cherokee, haven't had any luck, seems they are a Holy Grail for the Jeep guys, with any found bringing a big price tag, I've had two different guys recommend the Explorer rear, they said it was the same width, had disc brakes, same bolt pattern, and uses the same gears as the Mustang, have you had any experiance or heard of any one making this swap in a Cherokee?

[THEFERMANATOR]

The EXPLORER rear end is the 8.8". Nice solid piece, many have used it in JEEPS for conversions since it uses the same 5X4.5" lug pattern. 96+ have disc brakes, 95- have drums. They are 1" narrower, but a 1/2" on each side is barely noticeable. You will lose a slight bit of driveshaft length due to the way the 8.8"s driveshaft attatch's. It uses a flanged yoke instead of a standard U-joint yoke. It has a larger ring gear than the DANA 44 and use 31 spline axles in the EXPLORER rear ends. There only weakness is that they use C-clips to hold the axles in, but C-clip eliminators are available in the aftermarket. Find you a 96+ from an EXPLORER V-6(the V-8 model has an extra torque arm atatchment on it) with the limited slip, weld on some new spring perch's and your good to go. They can be found many times for under $600 by me.

[bassarama]

Thanks Thefermanator man!

I'll check it out next time I PM it.

So what if the side bearings you mention have to much play, How do you ajust'em? On the top pic; those metal clips on top of each bearing housing are to prevent side movement correct?

Joe

[THEFERMANATOR]

The metal clips are there to keep the adjusters from backing off. If you have to much movement you need to replace the bearings in it. If you can get ahold of the special tool for adjusting the bearing pre-load it isn't a bad job to do. The last 8 1/4 I did cost me around $60 in parts and about 2 hours of my time.

[msbhammer]

Hey Therm., my daughter has a 1997 camero thats making the same noise. I looked at the rear, but found no fill bolt to fill the pumpkin ??, Dont all rears have a filling area ??

[spareparts]

I looked at the rear, but found no fill bolt to fill the pumpkin ??, Dont all rears have a filling area ??

there's a joke there somewhere, I just can't come up with it

look on the front side of the housiing, above the ribs, there will be a recessed plug that uses a square drive( usually 3/8)

[msbhammer]

Yeah, I knew there was the making of a joke with the filling location. ;D

[THEFERMANATOR]

You know HAMMER, a dirty mind(like mine) could really say your a sick man after reading your post. But like spare said, GM put the fill plug in the actual cast iron portion of the housing normally on the passenger side.

[msbhammer]

Were both sick men Therm. Thanks for teh advise on the location of the hole. Never had this problem when I was younger. :P

[phatdaddy]

Have you ever found a gasket for the diff cover? i never understood why dodge dosen't offer one.

[twistedparot]

just go buy a G.M.C. and dont worry about it anymore.

mopar... my only problems are repairs

mopar... most often passed at races

thiers many more but, i dont wanna hurt any feelings,lol.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Dodge uses no gasket on the diff covers. Just make sure you use a load bearing type silicone. The silicone seal though actual makes the center chunk more rigid.