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I had a 2wd that leaked at the axle seal on the driver's side even after replacing the seal. So mine might have needed a wheel bearing, or both while I was at it, to fix that leak. But my 4wd is not leaking there. If yours is not leaking, I'd replace the 3rd member if the axles are ok and call it good.
I am curious what caused it to fail, though. After owning my 4x4 for the better part of a year and moving everything I own clear across the country, I decided to check all the driveline fluids. Well, at least the transmission and rear diff. The front knuckles need new seals so I didn't bother with that one. The rear took a whole quart of gear oil before leveling off. The diffs both had loose drain bolts, which I tightened up. I don't know if maybe you had the same thing but it got run dry. There wasn't much of a sign of a leak because the drain plug is right at the bottom, but there was a sign of weeping creeping gear oil all around the plug.
I was just talking about the pinion bearing and seal. I hope the differential itself is not damaged. I agree the outer stuff should be OK. But I'll still have to pull them to get out the diff. If I am lucky, all I will actually need is the pinion gear, bearing, seal. Maybe.
Why fail? I have used my truck to haul many heavy trailer loads. I've pulled many yards of paving base (crushed limestone). Also bigger loads of topsoil and fill. Sometimes, it has been wet. That's really heavy, especially the wet limestone. I have gotten stopped at a traffic light on the hill on the way up here, even had to put it in 4WD low to get started going up the hill. That is serious stress on the pinion bearing. I even broke my engine mounts doing that. I drive a different way home with a loaded trailer now! I recently pulled a small cement trailer as well. It holds 1 yard, but I took 2 loads of 3/4 yards. That wasn't too bad.
The main reason I got the truck is construction work. It has done well considering the abuse.
Last edited by 83pingpong; 11-02-2015 at 06:00 AM.
I think this is a stock '83 with L52 and 4.11 gearing (8" diff) ???
I'll count the teeth on the pinion and ring to verify ratio.
Ring and pinion, pinion seal can be had for under $200 from Marlin Crawler (OEM type). Yukon gears for maybe $80 more. Given my penchant for loade trailer use, maybe I should go with the Yukon?
I've never worked on a diff. I guess I'll pull the plug this afternoon and remove the shaft... begin taking the nuts off the cover housing. I'll take some pics when I expose the ring and diff setup. Somehow, I do not think there is a locker in there. Maybe. The pinion is free wheeling, so I guess I can't loosen the tension on the pinion until I get it off and somehow hold the pinion from the other side... suggestions?
Last edited by 83pingpong; 11-02-2015 at 06:36 AM.
Once you pull the 3rd out you can stick a screwdriver in the gears to hold them still so you can the pinion but loose. The other options is to pull the drive shaft and put two of the bolts back on the flange to give you a place to a screw driver to hold the flange while undo the nut.
I would imagine you would want the strongest gears you can afford since you tend to haul heavy equipment, I would imagine that what finally broke the teeth of something.
Word of advice based on my own hard experience: don't assume your gear ratio is anything in particular. I suggest turning/counting the *front* diff, and whatever that comes to, build/buy a rear to suit. I ended up with mismatched diffs at one point because I made such an assumption (or trusted printed info somewhere, I forget).
Good News. It was actually the front universal. It must have been seized when I got under there and checked them. No visible signs until I rolled it into the driveway... definitely loose. OReilly had a replacement in stock, got the shaft back from the shop and bolted it in. Done.
The truck continues to amaze me with it's durability. Over 30 years and nearly 250k miles. It looked like the original uni.
Last edited by 83pingpong; 11-03-2015 at 04:19 AM.
Sold the truck. You may hear from Casey (new owner). He already installed the Weber. I should have done that long ago 'cause the choke did not work at all on the OEM carb.
Work done so far:
The original carb was tired and in need of a rebuild. The p/o gave me a new 32/36 so I put it in and desmogged (this brought the engine right back to life).
Headlights were dull so I changed over to a positive ground setup with a harness from low range so I can use new style bulbs
The big problem I've been chasing was a bad vibe which I thought was driveline. So far I have rebuilt the transfer case completely. Changed the rear u joints as well. I just put in new tie rods and a steering stabilizer and rebuilt the drag links. I also rebuilt the front axle completely with all new seals and bearings. STILL HAVE THE VIBE. Tire pressure checked as well. I am going to change out my rear bearings and seals as well. I'm thinking it must be my shocks/springs as that is about all that's left. The rear shaft is timed correctly.
The p/o had a failure of the rear shaft front u joint. I was thinking the flange could have been damaged because of this or maybe the shaft itself?
in any case I am committed to getting this thing 100% up to daily driver duty. Not too many things left to replace or rebuild lol.
Decided to re paint with some military flat paint. Color is field drab from Aervoe. Pulled everything apart and rust proofed the frame with permatex rust eliminator and some enamel black paint over top. New windshield installed also as well as new lights and housings all around. Getting ready to install new bushings for everything once im done with the bed.
11-01-2015, 08:24 PM
