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8.8 rear end questions

My '83 GT has a Turbo Coupe 8.8 in it, and it's grinding. It only grinds when making a turn, and only after the car has been driven for awhile. All the info I can find suggests that thelube is worn out/too thin, and that seems to be the case. When I drained it, it was quite thin looking. I cleaned out the housing, and refilled it with 80/85/90W lube, but I can't drive it to test it out, because the car is on non-op (California.)

I just wondered if anyone else knows of another thing that would cause this?

Also, I have about 1/8" end play on both axles. That seems excessive to me, but everybody, even the Ford mechanic, says that's the nature of the beast. These are not pressed on bearings, it's a C-clip rear end. I was wondering if there's any way to adjust the end play, like a thicker C-clip?

Reply to
elaich
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Check the bearings, I had fronts go out that had me thinking the rear was grinding like that in turns.

Reply to
GILL

Don't forget to added some friction modifier! (something like this:

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Reply to
John S.

"John S." wrote in news:806f2209-30ba-44cc-9505- snipped-for-privacy@r31g2000prh.googlegroups.com:

It's not a limited slip, but I suppose that couldn't hurt.

Reply to
elaich

My bad! I assumed the 8.8 had a trac-loc in it...

Reply to
John S.

I thought the same thing.

If it's grinding back there, it can be several things:

Outer wheel bearings? Jack up the rear one at a time and rotate. Got noise? Radial movement?

Differential side bearings. Did the new oil change the sound? If not, try 85W-40 and see if that changes it. It won't hurt to run it with 140 for a while, especially in the summer.

Pinion bearings. See above for side bearings. On some cars a noisy pinion bearing will sound different in reverse.

Pinion nut backed off (check this first)

Brake caliper rubbing. Visual check, worn spots on rotor hat.

But 8.8s should be cheap at the salvage yard. You can change the whole thing out for $100 I bet.

Reply to
RB

RB wrote in news:h16dvg$oh7$ snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal- september.org:

Most people do, but the tag does not decode as a Trac-Loc. For Trac-Loc, the second digit in the code should be "F". Mine is "K". At least, that's what Chilton's says.

As far as other suggestions, remember I said it only does it when turning, when hot. That rules out anything pinion or brake related, or outer wheel bearings. It has to be something to do with the differential action.

Reply to
elaich

Not neccessarily. Sideloads can make things shift, or increase the load on that outer bearing.

Reply to
RB

RB wrote in news:h18803$fk0$ snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal- september.org:

Even on a C-clip axle where the axle slides in and out of the bearing?

Reply to
elaich

Sure. when you turn a corner, part of the side loads are vectored into a radial load through the bearing to the axle housing.

Reply to
RB

RB wrote in news:h1aqre$7p0$ snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal-september.org:

Well, it would have to be both of them failing at the same time, which I find unlikely. The grinding is always pretty well centered, where if it were outer bearings, it would be to one side or the other. I suppose it's work a look, but I won't until I find out if the lube change did it. The car is currently unregistered, so I can't drive it far enough to find out just now.

Reply to
elaich

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