Hi, I'm a frequent lurker and first time poster...and I believe I have a problem. First some background info...
Bought an 97 LX450 about three weeks ago, factory lockers, very, very nice shape...looked to be a mall cruiser. It had about 81K miles.
Since that time, I have had a slight ping/rattle...it has been difficult to track down, but I believe that I have found it. Here's how I tracked it down:
1. Noticed that when cold, no ping/rattle.
2. Ping/rattle doesn't vary with engine rpm.
3. Ping/rattle still evident when coasting with engine off and transmission in neutral
4. Ping/rattle still evident when coasting with engine off, transmission in neutral and center diff in neutral
5. Sound can be heard in the cab and is localized to around the emergency brake lever (wife was driving when I localized the sound...didn't want to be taking my eyes off the road for that long ).
I was thinking it was something downstream of the center diff, but I believe that I have found the noise now. I disconnected both front and rear drive shafts (to isolate driveshaft/axles from the problem space). I repeated steps 2 through 4 above with the driveshafts disconnected and found that the noice was only evident when center diff was in "H" (I think the output shaft didn't get going fast enough in "L"). Note: The LX was on jackstands at several points to increase safety Next, I took my mechanics stethoscope and placed it on the transmission in various places (first rigging up the gas petal to go about 35 mph indicated). No pinging/rattling on the transmission (confirmation of what was heard in the cab). Next, I checked the center diff and noticed that the rattle/ping appears to be coming from the center diff
So I dove into the archives here and on birfield and it doesn't look like this happens very often. I think Cruiserdan only knows of 3 of these things that needed to be fixed. Has anybody else cracked open their center diff to replace a bearing or two? I've rebuilt a few Samurai transfer cases and a Samurai transmission so I have the press to do the work. For those that have done it, how involved is it? Any suggestions on taking it apart first and only purchasing the replacement bearing or should I do the entire thing?
Or, should I do nothing, put some synthetic gear oil in it and see if it quiets down or goes away (not my preferred solution, but if it "fixes" the problem it might be worth a try)?
Mike
Bought an 97 LX450 about three weeks ago, factory lockers, very, very nice shape...looked to be a mall cruiser. It had about 81K miles.
Since that time, I have had a slight ping/rattle...it has been difficult to track down, but I believe that I have found it. Here's how I tracked it down:
1. Noticed that when cold, no ping/rattle.
2. Ping/rattle doesn't vary with engine rpm.
3. Ping/rattle still evident when coasting with engine off and transmission in neutral
4. Ping/rattle still evident when coasting with engine off, transmission in neutral and center diff in neutral
5. Sound can be heard in the cab and is localized to around the emergency brake lever (wife was driving when I localized the sound...didn't want to be taking my eyes off the road for that long ).
I was thinking it was something downstream of the center diff, but I believe that I have found the noise now. I disconnected both front and rear drive shafts (to isolate driveshaft/axles from the problem space). I repeated steps 2 through 4 above with the driveshafts disconnected and found that the noice was only evident when center diff was in "H" (I think the output shaft didn't get going fast enough in "L"). Note: The LX was on jackstands at several points to increase safety Next, I took my mechanics stethoscope and placed it on the transmission in various places (first rigging up the gas petal to go about 35 mph indicated). No pinging/rattling on the transmission (confirmation of what was heard in the cab). Next, I checked the center diff and noticed that the rattle/ping appears to be coming from the center diff
So I dove into the archives here and on birfield and it doesn't look like this happens very often. I think Cruiserdan only knows of 3 of these things that needed to be fixed. Has anybody else cracked open their center diff to replace a bearing or two? I've rebuilt a few Samurai transfer cases and a Samurai transmission so I have the press to do the work. For those that have done it, how involved is it? Any suggestions on taking it apart first and only purchasing the replacement bearing or should I do the entire thing?
Or, should I do nothing, put some synthetic gear oil in it and see if it quiets down or goes away (not my preferred solution, but if it "fixes" the problem it might be worth a try)?
Mike