Ok hey everyone i just did my rear dif. service changed all the fluid out. When i took the pan off the fluid basically looked like slime it was like green with a black tint to it. I cleaned it all up inside with brake cleaner and compressed air and filled it back up with synthetic gear lube 80w-90, also a new cover and a new gasket. I also replaced the PCV valve while i was doing maintence. The truck rides alot better and smoother im very happy.

By the way thanks kyle for that DIY you made on the rear dif. service helped alot

My question would be when i took the cover off i noticed some of the gears had what looked like nics or scratches in them. Is this something that could eventually lead to a problem or is this sort of normal for a 99 with 83,000 miles on it. Pics are below


(Posted it in bigger size instead of a thumbnail so you could see what i was talking about)


Overview shot of the rear dif before i cleaned it

 

i don't think that is normal. when i did my diff change, about a week ago, mine looked almost new. the gears looked geat inside, no sheering or anything of that sort. first time the diff service since the truck came out of the factory. Mine is a 98 with 142,199 when i changed it.

 

hmm well i never had any problems or anything i just figured it was time to do a service on it any other takes?

 

can you tell where the gears where sheering at? like, can you tell what caused it?

 

Well those are your spiders inside the carrier that have pitting on them...I'd say thats a little better than the ring gear having pit marks, but its still not really optimal...

Do you get any whine or noise when youre turning one way and not the other? Usually youd get that kind of damage from spinning your tires then suddenly getting traction, or from towing on old gear oil (but with 80k, probably the 1st)...but thats a pretty serious whack to get that kind of marks.

So any noise from back there? Where there alot of metal shavings in the oil or on the magnet on the cover?

 

there was barley any metal shavings if any on the magnet and i have never towed anything before. there is also no noise when im turning or anything and the only time i have ever lost traction and regained it quick was when i was mudding. tere was a time though that i put the truck in park accidentaly when i was going like 2 or 3 mph and it made a noise but if never experienced any problems, is this going to give me problems in the future?

 

Was there any signs of wear on the ring and pinion? If not, then you are getting off easy. If I were you, I would be replacing the spider gears as soon as possible to prevent the likelihood that they will chip more and possibly damage the R/P. You could probably find all 4 of the gears out of a junkyard diff for cheap. These gears do not do a whole lot, in terms of load, but once they start to chip, there is no real end.

 

TIME FOR A LUNCHBOX LOCKKEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR


I wonder if we could get a group purchase set up for some drop in lockers....anyone in?


And I see conflicting info on other sites...would you have to remove the carrier to replace the spider gears? I think the problem is that you can get them out, but you cant properly shim and what not with the carrier still in?

 

No. To remove the spider gears, you must rotate the carrier to gain access to the bolt which holds in the cross shaft. Once that bolt is out, you can remove the cross shaft and then the transfer spider gears. Once the transfer spiders are out, then you can push in on the axles to release the c-clips and then the output spider gears.

I like to remove the cross bolt, then roll the carrier over 180 degrees and tap the cross shaft partially out. You cannot push it entirely out as it will hit the pinion and possibly the diff case. Just about 3/4" or so. Then roll it back over 180 degrees and put the bolt into the hole that is now outside the carrier, using the bolt to pull the shaft out. Now you can rotate one wheel which will spin the transfer spiders over to the open portions of the carrier.

 

ok so ur saying i should replace them how much r they offline (im currently at work and on the site on my cell phone) or at autozone and how hard of a job is this cause from ur description im sitting here like ......... wat? thanks again and wat caused thiscause ive never towed anything