Dave McLaughlin

Just wanted to post a thread to clearify an issue some of us have had with
differential noise. I was getting a very loud whine from my car that was directly
related to load or throttle input. When I first noticed the noise; it was just prior
to new tranny swap and suspension bushing changeout. I figured the noise
was coming from the tranny as it was having several issues. After all this work
was completed and car was ready to roll; I still had this F**king noise which
was amplified by the bushing swap (Delrin). It was also very apparant it was
in the differential. This was also a pisser as I just had the diff. out, opened,
and cleaned and saw no apparant problems (no metal of any kind and still
nice and tight, gears, etc.). Read everything I could find on the forum and after
talking to some folks smarter than me, I took a shot at changing the bearings
in the differential.
As I broke it down I discovered that the forward input bearing (closest to
the drive shaft), had at some point had water get to it. The pinion shaft and
the inside of the bearing had corrosion on them and had a distinctive grinding
sound which would cause this high frequency whine (the faster I went; the
louder it got). Ray Crowe sent me all the bearings and input seal. We changed
everything once we had it out, but I am sure that the front input bearing was
the whole problem. It makes sense that the bearing closest to possible
water intrusion would be the first to go. Bottom line; these are very well built
and engineered LSD's. As long as you keep the fluids clean and aren't too hard
on them they should last a very long time. P.S. All the bearings, crush sleeve,
and seal were $175.00 from Ray. A little patience, alot of attitude, and some
cold beer will get it done for you. Good Luck!