I recently got some front end work done on my 98' S-10, ball joints, tie rods and 2 new tires and an alignment.
Unbeknownst to me, the tires that were put on the front were about 1" in diameter bigger than the rears.
I put it into 4wd and hear all kinds of clunking and banging at the right front side.

I had to get the whole front differential "rebuilt" to over come the "noise".
Question to forum: Is that 1" diamter difference enough to destroy the gears in the front diff?

 

The noise you heard was likely the front axle engagement collar trying to engage, but not being successful due to the difference in shaft speeds. This would not require a full rebuild of the front axle, but more than likely would require a new collar and some R&R on the shaft ends.

How did 1" larger tires get put on the vehicle?

 

The numbers on the side of the tireswere the same.
I'm fairly certain that the new front tires are re-treads and hence the bigger diameter.
When I discovered the diameter difference, I got the rear tires changed to match the fronts ASAP.
This did not allieviate the clunking noise.

 

If you already messed up the collar, it would not fix the noise when you replaced the wheels. Was the noise present regardless of whether you were in 4wd or not?

*EDIT * - Just noticed the location.

*Moving to 2nd Gen Tech* - The forum help & suggestion section is for forum (software) related problems and not for automotive technical help.

 

Noise only in 4wd.

 

Yep, the front axle engagement collar was the likely cause. And to answer your question, yes, I believe that 1" difference in diameter would be sufficient to make this collar not want to engage properly.

Am I reading your initial post appropriately in that you have already gotten your front differential "rebuilt"?

 

Yes, already re-built to the price of $1000 USD.

This why I am in contention with my Mechanic:
Why should I be paying for someone elses mistake?
No mention was made that I should change all 4 tireswhile doingfront end work.
My understanding of these front differentials is that they are fairly "bullet prooof".

 

You should not have to change all four tires, however, if a tire has a different rolling radius (measurement from the ground to the center of the wheel when full weight is applied), it can cause binding of the drivetrain. The weakest link will suffer. From the sounds of it, your truck never fully engaged into 4wd so it probably did not really damage things too much.

And as I have said, I HIGHLY doubt they did anything to actually "rebuild" the front axle except charge you a LOT of money.

How long ago was the front end rebuilt? If just a day or so ago, have them give you the parts they replaced. For that price, it should include a ring and pinion, all of the bearings in the front diff, as well as a new engagement collar.

10 to 1, they either just fixed the engagement collar or they may have just lubed up the cable as that may have been the only real problem...

It is always possible for a hard part to break, but there are other weaker components that typically fail first.

 

OK- All good information.
Much obliged for the input...