Hi everyone,
i have a 3vze 92 pickup reg cab MT 4x4

when going off and on the accelerator, there’s a clunk for the driveshaft to engage the rear wheels, and during engine breaking there’s an oscillating noise coming from the area.
i assume this isn’t normal..
I inspected the rear differential where it meets the driveshaft, and observed rotational play, but also a little sideways play, and even some forward and backward play.

Im wondering if this is a situation where i can swap some parts out and fix it, or if I need a whole new diff..

thanks.

 

A little rotational play is normal. It's backlash of the ring and pinion and the play of the side (spider) gears. It's worse on high mileage trucks.

In and out or sideways on the pinion flange (where the drive shaft bolts to) is not good at all. Usually the seal will be leaking. Is it? Is the movement actually the diff and not the drive shaft? Make sure it's not the U-joint. I would disconnect the drive shaft at the flange and see if the flange on the diff is what's moving.

I would pull the diff drain plug and see what the oil looks like. If it has a lot of metallic glitter or worse (chunks, pieces), it's definitely time to fix or replace the diff.

Good luck with it. Please follow up with what you find. Dead end threads suck.

 

I drained the diff and the oil was pretty thick and nasty (and only half the correct amount)
but not really glittery and no chunks..

i'll inspect the u joint a bit better and the pinion flange..

 

Well that's kinda good news at least. Is the pinion seal leaking?