Gearbox/Diff Problem
Discussion
Hi all, typically, after extolling the virtues of the Chim to various cynical rellies, the car decided to have a hissy fit.
On xmas eve, I was driving along at about 60 mph and heard a noise similar to when driving through a pothole (but without the jolting). Immediately following that was some sloshing noises from just behind me & I stopped on the hard shoulder straight away. After doing a visual check under & around the car everything looked OK - no fluids on the road etc.
As I was very close to motorway exit I thought I would try to get off the hard shoulder & wait somewhere safer, but when I tried to pull away the back would squat like the handbrake was stuck on & the revs would dip right down to point of stalling. This happened in 1st & second gear.
AA lorry turned up & a van came along to have a look. Bloke in the van didn't have a clue - "It sounds like a faulty turbo pipe to me mate" - even the recovery driver thought he was talking nonsense.
When it came time to pull onto the lorry, the car rolled up perfectly (earlier I had tried pushing it in neutral & it was locked solid) and rolled off fine at the destination
I fired it up earlier & it rolled forward & back perfectly in 1st and reverse.
So, any ideas from the brainy folk out there? From a process of deduction it seems like the drive is going to the propshaft & arriving OK at the diff (rear end squatted when trying to pull away).
Cheers
bga
On xmas eve, I was driving along at about 60 mph and heard a noise similar to when driving through a pothole (but without the jolting). Immediately following that was some sloshing noises from just behind me & I stopped on the hard shoulder straight away. After doing a visual check under & around the car everything looked OK - no fluids on the road etc.
As I was very close to motorway exit I thought I would try to get off the hard shoulder & wait somewhere safer, but when I tried to pull away the back would squat like the handbrake was stuck on & the revs would dip right down to point of stalling. This happened in 1st & second gear.
AA lorry turned up & a van came along to have a look. Bloke in the van didn't have a clue - "It sounds like a faulty turbo pipe to me mate" - even the recovery driver thought he was talking nonsense.
When it came time to pull onto the lorry, the car rolled up perfectly (earlier I had tried pushing it in neutral & it was locked solid) and rolled off fine at the destination
I fired it up earlier & it rolled forward & back perfectly in 1st and reverse.
So, any ideas from the brainy folk out there? From a process of deduction it seems like the drive is going to the propshaft & arriving OK at the diff (rear end squatted when trying to pull away).
Cheers
bga
silverback mike said:
Brake jammed on? Could a caliper have jammed...... Driveshaft?
It's a weird one that's for sure, if you have drive to the diff and the wheels are trying to turn I can only see that it's after that, which means its driveshaft/wheelbearing/hub/disc/calipers....
I've whipped off the wheels & the calipers look OK, there was no smell of binding brakes & both rear pads & disk look fine. I suppose a bearing could collapse, overheat & jam - that could explain why it freed up after an hour of cooling.
Driveshafts appear to be OK, but then there could be something up with the UJ. It's a shame I'm not at home with my tools to have a proper look back there.
Bga,i hope the pin/shaft that holds the planetary gears in the crownwheel housing as not walked out of the housing,this happens when the shaft wears and jams the gear to the shaft causing the roll pin to shear and the pin comes out of its housing and jamming the whole diff assembly,i know this sounds unlikely,but ive seen this happen on many diff units causing that exact fault,the noise before the failure is the short warning,in saying this please check the other replies first,hopefully this is not the problem but it is a posibility.
That Daddy said:
Bga,i hope the pin/shaft that holds the planetary gears in the crownwheel housing as not walked out of the housing,this happens when the shaft wears and jams the gear to the shaft causing the roll pin to shear and the pin comes out of its housing and jamming the whole diff assembly,i know this sounds unlikely,but ive seen this happen on many diff units causing that exact fault,the noise before the failure is the short warning,in saying this please check the other replies first,hopefully this is not the problem but it is a posibility.
Thanks for the info, hopefully it'll be something a bit less major but it's good to be aware of the possibilities. If, in the above scenario, it jammed (as something did on the motorway) would it stay jammed or free up as it has done now?
only if the pin as moved back into the carrier housing,as i said Bga this is probably not your problem but this can happen.be careful it isnt because in extreme cases it fires itself thru the diff casing under centrifugal force when moving quickly again,carry out a major check on your issue before you continue,prop,mountings etc as the others suggested before you use chim again.
that daddy said:
only if the pin as moved back into the carrier housing,as i said Bga this is probably not your problem but this can happen.be careful it isnt because in extreme cases it fires itself thru the diff casing under centrifugal force when moving quickly again,carry out a major check on your issue before you continue,prop,mountings etc as the others suggested before you use chim again.
Cheers, it's not going anywhere under it's own steam until looked at!
lordgrover said:
bga said:
Turns out it was the diff, a couple of teeth broke on the crownwheel. A fully reconditioned unit is going in it's place so will be 
soon
soonOuch! Sounds expensive - good luck.
Could be worse, £400 + vat for a fully recon diff + labour on top. Not the best time of the year for these things to happen but I flogged another guitar to cover it
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