Might have found my rig's problem (1 Viewer)

[Boston Mangler]

Well, Allen swung the rig by yesterday AM and we took a look at it.

The driveshafts are both in the proper phase, so that is ruleld out.

As for his "squishy springs" i think he needs to get used to an 80 because it drives firmer then my 80 with the HD's on it!

There is a slight vibe @ about 60+ that changes between a vibe and a whirring noise.

The whirring noise does sound like gear whine, but why does it switch between a whirring noise a a vibration? Seems to "Whirr" until you get on it, and when your on it, it is more of a vibe!

That is all i can offer, best of luck to ya!

 

[Mickldo]

A technique for finding driveline noises is to jack the wheels off the ground and then use a stethoscope. Because an 80 is constant 4wd all four wheels must be raised. This procedure is very dangerous so make sure either a hoist or proper axle stands are used. Run the vehicle in gear up to the speed that the noise is made. Sometimes to make the noise it needs to be put under load so gently trail the brakes to load the drivetrain. While it is making the noise have a mate crawl underneath and use a stethoscope to find the noise. A stethoscope can be a commercially bought one or a piece of dowel or a long screwdriver. To use the dowel or screwdriver place one end on the item you want to listen to and the other end to your ear. Be extremely careful not to touch the dowel or any part of your body onto any spinning driveshafts or wheels. Once you touch the dowel onto the faulty item you will be able to hear the difference in tone to items that are good. Faulty bearings will have a definite grumble to them.

Just to make this perfectly clear, this procedure is dangerous, do not use if you are not confident of being able to do it safely. Do not attempt if you lack a brain or common sense.

I have used this technique several times to diagnose noises but it is fraught with danger and I only use it as a last resort.

 

[allen_ajones]

Thank you all for your help. Well I just I have to park it until I either learn how to do this maintenance myself or have the money to pay for it. bitter sweet to say the least. Damn I wish I was mechanically inclined. this just flat out sucks.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Thank you all for your help. Well I just I have to park it until I either learn how to do this maintenance myself or have the money to pay for it. bitter sweet to say the least. Damn I wish I was mechanically inclined. this just flat out sucks.

Do not be intimidated. The 80 series front end is shockingly easy and logical. There are a bunch of nuts, then a bunch of bolts, then a bunch more nuts. Then the whole thing is in your hand.

Easy stuff-Any metal in the diff oil when you drain it? If not, your problem is going to be easy. A diff rebuild and you are back on the road for 200k miles. You really do want to be certain about the diagnosis-is it for sure the front axle?

The problem with these trucks is that they run fine for 10 years with essentially no maintenance by the original owner. Then they get sold to a Cruiserhead and the first year or two of ownership is cleaning up the neglect of owner #1.

A case in point was my FJ60-bought at 160k miles. As soon as the OME kit went in, the rear pinion bearing started to howl. I'm sure the original owner never changed it in 16 years. It did give me a good chance to regear, though!!

Hang in there. The problem you have is not that serious. The worst case scenerio is $800 for a brand new diff from Toyota. My guess is you'll spend half that if you do some work yourself. If you were closer, I would help you.

 

[allen_ajones]

Thanks for the encouragement CruiserDrew because you gave me hope that eventually the repairs will settle down and be more predictable. It is just so damn intimidating when you don't have someone to bail you out when you need the help. I really bought this truck as a project but it ended up being my DD so having a second vehicle will probably coincide with my wrenching increasing. What is interesting to me is that almost everyone equates "howl and whirring noises" with pinion bearings gone bad. Where is the carrier bearing in all this?

 

[Boston Mangler]

Hey Allen

As i mentioned before, once you get the rig properly diaganosed, i am willing to help you do the repairs. The repairs are the easy part. I just dont want the responisibility of telling you something is wrong, having you buy something with your hard earned cash and having my assumption be wrong.

Once you figure out whats wrong, hit me with a PM and we will fix it.

Hope you understand!

p.s. my buddy has cash!

 

[allen_ajones]

Hey what's up Boston, Thanks for eyeballing my rig. I appreciate. Yeah wants I diagnose it, then I will hit you up.

how much is his offer?

 

[Mickldo]

Thanks for the encouragement CruiserDrew because you gave me hope that eventually the repairs will settle down and be more predictable. It is just so damn intimidating when you don't have someone to bail you out when you need the help. I really bought this truck as a project but it ended up being my DD so having a second vehicle will probably coincide with my wrenching increasing. What is interesting to me is that almost everyone equates "howl and whirring noises" with pinion bearings gone bad. Where is the carrier bearing in all this?

Carrier bearings can and do wear out but Pinion bearings seem to wear out more often. One common cause of this is the pinion nut coming loose. Have you checked to see if there is any radial free play in the pinion? To check it shake the pinion flange up and down and see if there is any movement.

 

[Boston Mangler]

To check it shake the pinion flange up and down and see if there is any movement.

Yeah, we checked that, there was no movement

 

[allen_ajones]

Shakes the pinion "flange". I will check again. I did have radial play in the units though. Makes sense. I have seen where people recommended replacing the the pinion flange when replacing units. But I have never heard a loose pinion flange. I'll check it out.

 

[allen_ajones]

Shakes the pinion "flange". I will check again. I did have radial play in the units though. Makes sense. I have seen where people recommended replacing the the pinion flange when replacing units. But I have never heard a loose pinion flange. I'll check it out.

spelling correction: I did have radial play in the u-joints though.

 

[allen_ajones]

Carrier bearings can and do wear out but Pinion bearings seem to wear out more often. One common cause of this is the pinion nut coming loose. Have you checked to see if there is any radial free play in the pinion? To check it shake the pinion flange up and down and see if there is any movement.

So if I am redoing opening up the diff anyway, do recommend replacing the carrier bearing as well? Also, where is the carrier bearing located?

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Allen-Inside the diff, there are 4 bearings/races. A front and rear pinion bearing and the 2 side (carrier) bearings, And absolutely yes-if you go to the trouble of opening it up, replace the carrier bearings as well as the pinion bearings. Also just for grins-get a look at the bearing just under the head of the pinion-it's huge, reflecting the forces on it during accelleration.

 

[Mickldo]

Don't worry about taking the side carrier bearings off. Just fit new bearings to the air locker when you fit it!