Stuck on highway at the moment with a smoking diff

[BlueC]

Lord- tow truck cartel.

The one and only time I had to use a towing service through AAA was a complete clusterfuck. My truck is AWD and I made it well known and that I needed a rollback. The contracted tow company took 3 hours to get a roll back to me just 10 minutes down the road from their station after sending two standard wreckers and one smart ass yankee just to determine that I had to have a rollback. The guy in the rollback finally made it and showed me where their order stated the truck was AWD and requested a rollback.

 

[AndyG]

The one and only time I had to use a towing service through AAA was a complete clusterfuck. My truck is AWD and I made it well known and that I needed a rollback. The contracted tow company took 3 hours to get a roll back to me just 10 minutes down the road from their station after sending two standard wreckers and one smart ass yankee just to determine that I had to have a rollback. The guy in the rollback finally made it and showed me where their order stated the truck was AWD and requested a rollback.

Pretty much a description of the modern service workforce-

Somebody playing on a cellphone and casually taking calls and relaying information.

Sloppiness is standard now days.

And it is not just one person....the dispatcher, the driver, etc.

 

[MountaineerTom]

They do not look like ring gear bolts. They look like they're too small of a diameter. They may be part of the locker itself.

I thought they looked kind of small too.

 

[TJuser]

I'm guessing cover bolts, especially since it looks like an aftermarket cover. When I bought a Spicer cover, the number bad thing the reviews mentioned was weak cover bolts supplied with the cover. Mine came with unmarked bolts that looked weak, so I reused my OEM bolts to avoid any potential issues.

I don't think they're cover bolts. The cover bolts on it are grade 8 1/2 and the bolts in the diff are a fair bit smaller

She's ready to undergo surgery

 

[TJuser]

So I guess over time, those little bolts walked out and gouged the bearing cap and housing...question is do I get a whole stinking new axle or just bearing cap? I know the caps are kind of machines to the pumpkin but does it really make a huge difference?

 

[MountaineerTom]

So I guess over time, those little bolts walked out and gouged the bearing cap and housing...question is do I get a whole stinking new axle or just bearing cap? I know the caps are kind of machines to the pumpkin but does it really make a huge difference?View attachment 542390

So it was ring gear bolts?

 

[TJuser]

So it was ring gear bolts?

Whatever holds these 2 parts together. I guess some screws sheared off and some walked out. The 2 parts spun separate which you can see from the score marks. Bearings honestly weren't too bad, although I'm still changing them out...these freakin screws are what caused the whole issue

 

[MountaineerTom]

Whatever holds these 2 parts together. I guess some screws sheared off and some walked out. The 2 parts spun separate which you can see from the score marks. Bearings honestly weren't too bad, although I'm still changing them out...these freakin screws are what caused the whole issue


View attachment 542408

Oh, I see now. Initially I thought the screw and head looked too small to be a ring gear bolt, then the one you posted a little earlier looked like ring gear bolts were missing. I see now that it’s just the spacing between them that I was looking at.

Damn, that sucks.

 

[TJuser]

So what's the verdict on this cap? I don't see the gouging being a huge issue on the housing, but what are the thoughts on the bearing cap? Will it be ok as is or is it worth it to have someone maybe fill it with weld? Or would that heat the cap too much and screw with the dimensions?

 

[Andy-WhiteTJ]

Personally, I would let them be. There is still plenty of material integrity there to keep the caps in place.

 

[TJuser]

Personally, I would let them be. There is still plenty of material integrity there to keep the caps in place.

That's what I figured. It hasn't cut away the area where the bolt will be pressuring. Thank you!

 

[TJuser]

Personally, I would let them be. There is still plenty of material integrity there to keep the caps in place.

That's what I figured. It hasn't cut away the area where the bolt will be pressuring. Thank you!

 

[TJuser]

So update on this. The Allen head bolts that held the carrier cap on were not loctited, so they backed out and caused all of this. This is not the first time it happened, as seen in this post. Almost exactly the same thing happened to me

So whatever. Cleaning it up, threadlocking new bolts in. Now trying to test the locker, but the stator doesn't seem to be working. Will be trying some more testing today

 

[hosejockey61]

So update on this. The Allen head bolts that held the carrier cap on were not loctited, so they backed out and caused all of this. This is not the first time it happened, as seen in this post. Almost exactly the same thing happened to meView attachment 543592

So whatever. Cleaning it up, threadlocking new bolts in. Now trying to test the locker, but the stator doesn't seem to be working. Will be trying some more testing today

The first generation of ARB was a 3 piece design and the bolts that held it together commonly worked their way loose when under load and torque. Even with loctite. Solutions were to either to security wire the bolts all together or weld the case in a few places. I've seen pictures where the welds failed.

In ARB's redesign, they use the ring gear bolts to hold both case halves together. No problems since.

 

[TJuser]

The first generation of ARB was a 3 piece design and the bolts that held it together commonly worked their way loose when under load and torque. Even with loctite. Solutions were to either to security wire the bolts all together or weld the case in a few places. I've seen pictures where the welds failed.

In ARB's redesign, they use the ring gear bolts to hold both case halves together. No problems since.

Ah ok. For such an expensive part, they'd pay a little more attention to this sort of thing

Do you have any advice as to the stator on the locker not working? I've hooked it up to 12 volt, right at the connector and it doesn't seem to work. Could the windings maybe be bad or the connection in the actual stator shot?

 

[hosejockey61]

Ah ok. For such an expensive part, they'd pay a little more attention to this sort of thing

Do you have any advice as to the stator on the locker not working? I've hooked it up to 12 volt, right at the connector and it doesn't seem to work. Could the windings maybe be bad or the connection in the actual stator shot?

Could be anything with all the metal flying through there. Did they replace the entire locker or just the case?

 

[TJuser]

Could be anything with all the metal flying through there. Did they replace the entire locker or just the case?

What do you mean? Sorry I'm a little thick in the head

 

[hosejockey61]

What do you mean? Sorry I'm a little thick in the head

Anything can happen when bolts back out and start hitting things. I have no idea about your stator but I would guess it got damaged

 

[TJuser]

Anything can happen when bolts back out and start hitting things. I have no idea about your stator but I would guess it got damaged

Took the stator out today and looks like it's separating. Got a new one on order now

 

[Squatch]

In the 70's / 80's you could buy this motor oil. it made used oil out of diesel look like lacquer thinner.
View attachment 542125

I remember using that stuff in my '67 Dart. It also promoted main seal leaks.