Front Diff Is Toast 😔

taylormade73

taylormade73

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Well, I heard a big clunk last night on the highway; sounded like a big rock came up and hit something underneath so I thought that's what happened. A short distance later I heard two smaller flanks amd immediately pulled over. Checked everything underneath and saw nothing amiss. So I continues home since i was so close. When I got off the highway I heard it a third time and also felt a catch/bind so I limped it home.

I put it up on Jack stands and rotated the front wheels. As I spin them I hear clicking. I put my hand on the diff cover and feel it as it clicks when I rotate the wheels. Fucking spider gears to the front locker I'm sure. Pulling cover to check. FML. Already had the rear Rubi locker fail.

At a crossroads as to what to do. I'm installing an RJ60 in two weeks but planned on running the 35's until they were worn and then upgrading to a larger axle to run 37's. Didn't plan on that happening anytime soon budgetwise lol. Hmmm, front locker or start the front axle upgrade...decisions, decisions. :cautious:
 
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Damn, that sucks! Any idea how it happened? Were you hard on it while wheeling or something, or did it just happen randomly out-of-the-blue?
 
Chris said:
Damn, that sucks! Any idea how it happened? Were you hard on it while wheeling or something, or did it just happen randomly out-of-the-blue?
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Not too hard on it. No warning signs till last night. Kinda scared to open it and see what is damaged.
 
Sorry to hear this, maybe a problem that could be covered or partially covered by warranty of the installer? How many miles since the install?
 
mots said:
Sorry to hear this, maybe a problem that could be covered or partially covered by warranty of the installer? How many miles since the install?
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If the ring and pinion yes. If the spider gears for the locker no. And if ring and pinion via spider gears, also a fat no lol.
 
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Good news and bad news. Pulled diff cover and ring and pinion look fine. Noise is coming from locker. Noise in video is with me rocking the wheel back and forth.

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taylormade73 said:
Good news and bad news. Pulled diff cover and ring and pinion look fine. Noise is coming from locker. Noise in video is with me rocking the wheel back and forth.

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I don't know if this is the same problem you're having, but my rear locker was not fully dis-engaging, which resuletd in similar noises. I drained the fluid, cleaned everything with a brake cleaner, re-filled it with conventional gear oil and he problem went away.
 
Irun said:
I don't know if this is the same problem you're having, but my rear locker was not fully dis-engaging, which resuletd in similar noises. I drained the fluid, cleaned everything with a brake cleaner, re-filled it with conventional gear oil and he problem went away.
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That's possible. Unsure about cleaning and refilling if something is really wrong with locker/spider gears. Don't want to implode entire diff, tc, etc if diff gets locked up while driving.
 
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