I finally got my project to the point I could do a shake down ride. once I got it up to 60 on the expressway, the drivetrain started sounding loud. Not grinding, just loud gear noise. I decided to exit and take side streets home. Unfortunately, the rear end locked up on the off ramp while down shifting. After skidding to a stop, I was able to get it moving again. All the way home, the rear sounded like hell whenever I'd let off the gas, so I think the Diff is shot. Everything sounded fine if I was accelerating or cruising though.

I'm just going to swap in the diff from my old AT untill I can get the right gear ratios and maybe an LSD.

What I want to know is, what other damage should I look out for before I get her back out on the road?

 

Damage to any other part of the drive train and mounting points.

 

well, uh, ya...

what I meant was any specific things I should watch out for? anything in the drivetrain that's particularly fragile or vunerable to sudden lock up? The clutch was in the whole time, so the engine wasn't affected.

 

nothing in particular, likely all of the damage was done inside the diff. i would just check the u-joints and CV joints as well to be sure they are ok. visually inspect all the rear suspension components and bushings also.

 

diff mounts. they break easy. tranny mounts too. other than that, probably just whatever actually broke.

pat

 

Cool, I'm gonna start ripping into it tonight. I'll let you know how bad it was.

 

If you dismantle the differential and find pieces floating around not attached to anything, pics would be nice.

Also, when you pull it out, check to see how much fluid is in it. Running dry might cause the sort of damage you experienced.

-=Russ=-

 

Same thing happeded to me in my 924s, (porsche). Only ran it 9 days, turns out there wasn't any fluid in the diff. part of the transaxle due to the non-existant drain plug. *smack head*

 

IT RUNS!
I swapped the Diff's. When I drained the bad one, there were little bits of metal in the oil. Worse than that, once it was off, I could hear something rattling inside! When I get the chance this week, I'll take it apart and take pictures of the carnage. Thanks for all of your help. BTW, Patman, you were right. The frong diff mount was sheared, and the tranny mounts looked like crap too.