Ok so I have to say the title to this thread could not have been more fitting for I found once I got the diff casing opened up. For reasons beyond my comprehension, the bolts that attach the ring gear to the carrier came loose and backed themselves out. I had five bolts lying in the bottom of the casing and it's what punched the holes in the cover. I can't even begin to understand how that even happened. I had thread lock on them and they were run down tight. The only thing i can figure is the bolts i used were out of the rebuild kit I bought and were slightly different than the OEM bolts. So, I had the five lying on the bottom and every single one of the remaining bolts were backed halfway out. Amazingly enough the ring gear didn't have any damage to it. How that it is Im not sure. The pinion gear however was not so lucky, it does have a damaged tooth but not so much in the vital area where it grabs the ring.I mean it doesn't look great but it's not all that bad either. I must have stood there for the better part of an hour turning those gears and listening for any grinding noises or seeing if it would catch. I cleaned up the gnarled edge and after long consideration decided to put it back together and see what happens. I couldn't see wasting the ring and pinion I just bought without at least giving it another try. I figured if it happens again I'll just use it as an opportunity to upgrade to the full 8.8. So anyways I put it all back together and let it run on the lift for about 25 minutes and everything seemed to sound and function ok. I then dropped the lift down and put the wheel rollers under them to add some load on them and again they seemed to be fine. I went ahead and drove it home last night and then to work this morning. The only thing I noticed is an ever so slight howl at around 40 mph but it goes away when you drop below 40 or go above 40 which I'm really not sure I understand because It's all together right and the backlash is good. We will just have to see how it goes.
A new one on me...Cracked Diff the Finale
- Thread starter GhostLs
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Maybe there was some residual oil in the threads which prevented the loctite from setting. Clean it with some acetone.
You're probably okay as mine's still stock and it too makes a very subtle whine. Be sure to follow the break-in procedure. It may get quieter as you drive.
Did you use a file to fix the damaged gear or a dremel? You have to watch the heat.
You're probably okay as mine's still stock and it too makes a very subtle whine. Be sure to follow the break-in procedure. It may get quieter as you drive.
Did you use a file to fix the damaged gear or a dremel? You have to watch the heat.
Lincoln Jealous
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GOOD JOB GhostLs i knew you could do it, hahhaaha:Beer
What did you torque the ring gear bolts to? I remember the torque setting was really high, at least too high to just have a guy hold the carrier while the other guy is torquing. We made a special tool for this purpose:
I know, right? You'd think all the gears would be toast.
The ring and pinion are pretty damn hard but yeah, its amazing it wasn't worse. Be glad it caught on the cover and not the housing. What did you fix the cover with again? Make sure the gear oil won't break it down.
Boy that would have make it easier to have had that! Actually I went into over kill mode. You guys will probably laugh at this but I don't care I wanted to be sure. I ran them down tight with a 3/8 air impact and then hit them again with a 1 inch super duty air impact. I realize I could have snapped them off which would have sucked but I was prepared for that too. Me and my buddy that helped me out are both 240lb guys so we just held onto it and torqued it down. He is a diesel mechanic and is amazingly strong I'm sure due to the fact that all diesel parts are rediculously huge. Anyways I think the torque rating is up around 100lbs. Lol I almost considered JB welding the bolts in only because if i have to tear into it again i will replace everything with 8.8. As for the cover I just bought a new one.