My rear Diff. may be shot, so.......

[BBQ BOY]

There is a possibility that my rear differential may be shot. My Mechanic notice a very bad vibration. Put it on a lift and saw that the rear drive shaft was VERY LOOSE!! The back bolt has managed to work its way almost out from the flange. You could take the drive shaft in your hand and freely turn it 1/4 of the way before it caught. There is no telling how long it has been that way. Anyway I am wanting to put an Aussie locker on and if I do will that fix my diff. issue. Excuse my ignorance because eI do not about this stuff. If the Diff. is shot then what? Is an Aussie locker the same as a diff?

 

[Hard40]

For the money I would suggest an ARB. It may be that the pinion nut has worked loose, previous owner did not stake the nut or maybe just a bad pinion bearing. If you were motivating enough to get to the mechanic your Ring and Pinion are still working although may be damaged.

 

[BBQ BOY]

For the money I would suggest an ARB. It may be that the pinion nut has worked loose, previous owner did not stake the nut or maybe just a bad pinion bearing. If you were motivating enough to get to the mechanic your Ring and Pinion are still working although may be damaged.

Explain that last sentence.

 

[mooker82]

Explain that last sentence.

If your rear tires were turning the ring and pinion is working, although it could be damaged.

If you are keeping your stock gearing you should be able to pick up a used 3rd member complete for pretty cheap. If you want to go locked the ARB is awesome but you get into wiring a compressor, running lines, etc. With an ARB you will need someone to install it for you more than likely. The Aussie Lockers are pretty easy to install yourself. You may want to see if RK (check the classifieds above or PM him) still has a complete aussie locked 3rd for sale.

You could also swap the front and rear diffs. The front is probably not worn as much.

Sounds like a bad pinion bearing but hard to tell. It could also just be a bad u joint that caused the vibration (hard to tell by the description).

 

[scott johnson]

If you going locked.... Spend a little and get a detroit. Probably cost you about $550 but well worth it and very stout. Just depends on how hard you plan on wheeling it. Might consided a limited slip if you dont plan on going too crazy. PM dbenke and ask him. He would prob be willing to take a look at it. He built both my axles and they are good to go, running f/r lockers,4:88's and 35" tires.

 

[BELMONT148]

When you get it back to your house Mike, I would let one of us local guys take a look at it. Might just need to tighten up the pinion nut. A used third can be p/u cheap and swapped in in about an hour. As far as swithching the front out, I wouldn't unless you really need a front end (knuckles/birfs) rebuild. It's a lot of work to get the front out.

PS: Rule of thumb with a new cruiser: Get it running safely before you pile on the mods. If not you will never get to enjoy driving it.

Jeremy

 

[71-CRUISER]

Any Locker that you install will not replace the ring and pinion gears which are the parts that will get damaged if you drive very far with a loose pinion nut. If the gears did get damaged than your only option is to replace the ring and pinion. If you chose to go with a full case locker like a Detriot or ARB than you will have to take your ring and pinion apart either way which would make it a good time to replace tham with new or used undamaged gears.

If you cant hear any noise coming from your rear diff at highway speeds than there is a good chance that your gears are just fine. An Aussie Lockker will only replace the spider gears, which has nothing to do with the actual setup of the ring and pinion. Consiquently it can be moved from one third member to another very easily if you do buy a good used third member down the road.

 

[Hard40]

If your rear tires were turning the ring and pinion is working, although it could be damaged.

If you are keeping your stock gearing you should be able to pick up a used 3rd member complete for pretty cheap. If you want to go locked the ARB is awesome but you get into wiring a compressor, running lines, etc. With an ARB you will need someone to install it for you more than likely. The Aussie Lockers are pretty easy to install yourself. You may want to see if RK (check the classifieds above or PM him) still has a complete aussie locked 3rd for sale.

You could also swap the front and rear diffs. The front is probably not worn as much.

Sounds like a bad pinion bearing but hard to tell. It could also just be a bad u joint that caused the vibration (hard to tell by the description).

Well said.

 

[Trollhole]

SO did your Mechanic tighten the pinion nut? Is there still movement? Is there still noise?

I had the same isssue with my second cruiser I bout. Had a horrible vibration at speed. Got home dropped the driveshaft and the pinion nut was loose and unstaked. Tightened it down really good and staked the nut. Vibration went away. No issues 4 years later. Plan on replacing the pinion seal. Probably shot. It's a job.

Have you checked to see if you have a locker in the rear? Both tires need to be off the ground. Spin one. If the other moves the oposite direction you dont have one. Anything else and there will be something in there.

3rds are cheap. What year is the cruiser?

 

[mooker82]

I may even have a cheap 3rd for sale soon in Charleston. If RK still has the disc brake front axle I can pull my current front axle and sell the 3rd out of it. You will probably have to change the flange on it but I think I even have a 4sp flange.

 

[BBQ BOY]

SO did your Mechanic tighten the pinion nut? Is there still movement? Is there still noise?

I had the same isssue with my second cruiser I bout. Had a horrible vibration at speed. Got home dropped the driveshaft and the pinion nut was loose and unstaked. Tightened it down really good and staked the nut. Vibration went away. No issues 4 years later. Plan on replacing the pinion seal. Probably shot. It's a job.

Have you checked to see if you have a locker in the rear? Both tires need to be off the ground. Spin one. If the other moves the oposite direction you dont have one. Anything else and there will be something in there.

3rds are cheap. What year is the cruiser?

He won't be able to get o the pinion until tomorrow but we still wont know because my gad tank has been sent off to get get an acid bath and epoxy.

 

[IndianDoc]

rear diff

If I remember DBenkie has a limited slip to sell, found out about it myself after I had already bought one for the front of my rig. PM him and see. If you decide to swap the diff while you are in there, and like the others I would not go in there until I tightend up the pinion nut and tested her out.

 

[3pits]

my 78 rear diff was bad when I bought it, mine did not turn like you are saying but the pinion moved in the diff housing 1/4-3/8" back and forth (side to side), it would roar at certain speeds, like around 55, if I let off the gas it would either make noise or get worse, I cannot remember

I tightened the pinion nut once but I believe the torque is around 300-450# something really high, dont quote me on this, I just remember thinking back then when I was a cruiser newb, "it was a huge amount" I had a hard time tightening the nut , now that I think about it it wa sbecause I did not have an ebrake to keep the cruiser from rolling over me as I tightened the nut,,,

hard40 said it very well, a locker wont fix this, if you can turn the DS that much it sounds like the gears are worn



I changed out my diff,