front differential

[nikimiki]

hi i am a newbie to this site, but i think i have serious problem with my cruiser. its a 1997 colorado 3.0 GTXD was running fine one day then the next it decided it was going to be sick.
the problem seems to be with the front diff according to my mechanic..the prop is fine..but i am worried about the gear box also as the lc will go into gear in normal driving but if you go above 20mph it vibrates very very very badly..but in normal driving it will not move at all reverse and makes a horible crunching/grinding noise.
if you put it in h and reverse the lc will reverse.
is there a problem going on with gear box/transfer box or is this soley a diff problem.
any help will be appreciated.

 

[karl webster]

We went green lanning and a chap on here had similar issues (spin drift) He may be able to haelp you with this problem.
I have a 90 series that im breaking if you decided to go down the second hand route.
Good look and i hope it turns out to be a cheaper fix than maybe your thinking
karl

 

[nikimiki]

hi karl
thank you very much for your reply
i am hoping its a cheaper fix than anticipated also.
you mentioned you are breaking a cruiser could you give me price on the front diff
and would you have any idea on how much to post/courier to glasgow.
thank you niki

 

[karl webster]

Im thinking it may be more like the cvJoint. I know last year when a few of us were at the meet they have at lincomb tony p who is on here broke a shaft on the front end. See what feedback you get on here as the spin drift may know what went wrong with his.
He had the reverse problem as i had to pull him backwards so he could move off again.

My num is 07968389167 if I can help in any way.

Thanks karl

 

[Rudolph]

Hi Niki, Glasgow not that far from me.
I'm 10 miles north of Balloch
I might be able to give you a hand

 

[nikimiki]

hi karl
my husband has been underneath the dragonwagon today and has inspected the diff today and where front propshaft attaches to diff it has completely collapsed as the flange where propshaft attaches is moving up and down a few inches and in and out a few inches so its definately the diff that is broken.thank you very much for you reply and sugesstions. all help is appreciated as i love my cruiser.
niki

 

[nikimiki]

hi rudy
thank you very much for your offer of help..i am looking for a front diff for my cruiser
more commonly known as the dragonwagon. and i hoping that this is the only problem.
thank you again.
niki

 

[karl webster]

You may find that it is actually the drive shaft that has collapsed. If it defo is the diff i will pm you with a price hopefully tomoz. Is there any differences does anyone know with the models ?
karl

 

[nikimiki]

hi karl
hubby is pretty certain its the diff that is caput. he has checked driveshaft and it is ok.
niki

 

[karl webster]

Get him to give me a quick buzz tomoz if he wants. If i remember right there is a cv type set up on diff side and also hub side. Tony ps inner cv broke but actually the shaft that goes into the diff.
Cheers.

 

[Chris]

Agree with Karl. The shaft moving about is FAR more likely to be the drive shaft not the diff. The diff is much further inside the casing. On the driver's side, the shaft actually has and extension and the bit that you can wiggle is a long way from the carrier bearings.

You simply cannot diagnose a broken diff by wiggling the shaft.

The diff has some pretty big components in it and on a 90 series, they are very under-stressed. Breaking one is almost impossible. If the bearings go, it's a very gradual process. And certainly not one that requires a new diff. CVs and the drive shaft are the weakest components in the drive train. Classic symptom is a wibbly wobbly shaft.
If the crown and pinion have gone, then a new diff is the simplest option. About 3 - 4 hours to swap out.

Remove the top wishbone pin to let the suspension drop forward to get at the shaft. IF and I say IF you can get the bottom 4 ball joint nuts off then you can remove the whole suspension tower. Then it's plain sailing. Just read your reply to Karl. Say again, you cannot determine it's the diff by wiggling the drive shaft. yes - it could be, but it would be the first one that I have ever heard of.

So my advice is don't guess. Find out.

Chris

 

[karl webster]

Wanting you to come and bail me out cris. Far more idea than me with these cars and issues.
karl

 

[nikimiki]

hi karl will get michael to give you a phone tomorrow.
what would be the best time to give you call.

 

[karl webster]

Whenever is good for him. Just trying to save you some money, I could sell you a diff but it isnt all about selling its helping finding the problem. Rarther give advice if i can that line my pockets
thanks karl

 

[Chris]

Check out what Tony did to Lil Blue.

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=7956

This had a front diff lock fitted by me. Tony did some fairly extreme stuff to it and it was the DS shaft that broke. In an unlocked 90, the front wheels will spin freely dissipating much of the torque in the diff. You would have to do something quite extreme to break the front diff. OK you could get component failure, sure. But if you break a drive shaft, all of the drive from the transfer box will go to that one wheel, just like being cross-axled. The car will go nowhere. Locke the centre diff and the car will get drive to the rear wheels and the front, but the broken side will get all of the rotation from the propshaft. Most likely that the hideous noise will be the broken shaft. A broken diff goes Brrrmmmm, thunk, Brrmmmm thunk.

Not Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Chris

 

[nikimiki]

hi chris
i will give you a rundown of what hubby found.

the part between the actual diff itself and the propshaft has collapsed.
you mentioned the shaft has an extension, which hubby did not know about,can this part be replaced, or is it part of the diff itself.
hubby not to sure about 4x4s so all help is appreciated.

 

[karl webster]

that part can be replaced. cheap fix

 

[Chris]

We actually covered this the other day. This is the diff.

The only bits that you can touch on the outside are NOT the diff. The large cylinder things are the torpid joints (or something like that)

They can shear off inside the casing. If the torpid is the bit that is wobbling, it is unlikely to be the diff that is bust. The end of the torpid engages into a splined socket driven by the diff so there is some distance between the two. Damage in the diff probably can't be felt at the torpid joint.

Chris

 

[nikimiki]

thanks chris
if it is the part between the diff itself and the propshaft itself (which you call the torbid joint)
thats the bit i think i need.
niki

 

[Chris]

Not quite Niki. The torpid is between the diff and the drive shaft. Not the propshaft. The torpid, upper CV, halfshaft, lower CV and stub axle all make up each side of the drive train. I dunno which bits are available separately. I shall have a look at the parts diagram and come back to you in a moment.


The propshaft is the bit that runs front to back under the car. i don't think that this bit is in question at the moment

Chris