Spder gear wear

Martin Riddle wrote

To be honest, I don't think I've seen any specs on the spider and side gear play. I do know that there must be, because you used to be able to get different size shims that would go under the side gears....this would decrease the backlash between the side and pinion gears. Frankly, it's not usually that big of a problem....and when it gets real bad, it's very obvious without actually having to measure anything. Another area where you can develop unwanted play, the bore of the carrier where the side gears sit can get worn out...this can cause all sorts of wierd things/noises to happen. And of course play between the axles and side gears (where they are splined together) can cause noise.

The big problem with rear ends is that there is actually a fair amount of "stacking" that goes on when it comes to end play. There are so many components inside the diff carrier that each have a bit of play. When you add it all up, it can cause quite a clunk. We get this complaint all the time on new trucks. You can go between park and drive and get a good size clunk/clink out of the rear end. Totally normal....not much you can do about it unless you want to get in there, tear it all apart and try to eliminate the play between components. Which is a waste of time.

Ian

Thanks Shiden,

I swapped the Left and right rear tires. I had a newer tire on the right. This seems to have helped with the thumping of the gears going over bumps. Now the spider gears must be preloaded since the right rear is a smaller tire and spins more revolutions than the left in the same distance. I'll have to look for new spider gears and shims. The next time the diff covers off I'll replace them, seems easy enough.

Cheers