Rich3fan

I had mentioned my concerns in the Rear End FAQ sticky about what could happen if the rear was allowed to run out of oil (except for about 1/4 quart), so I took it to LG today for an inspection by his gear man (good guy... knows his ****... kinda quiet... I could fix that )

Yes, the ring and pinion got too hot. The pinion bearing will need to be replaced. The Auburn diff is okay. But, neither the pinion seal nor the MAC cover showed any sign of leakage, so I don't know where all the oil went but whatever. I'm going to get an install kit from one of the site sponsors, take it back up next week, and get what needs to be replaced taken care of so I can move on to my next adventure (see what else I can F*** up! )

One question though. Keliente mentioned that the carrier could possibly be in trouble. What should the repair man look for if that really is happening? Thanks and... "Thank you God!!!"

chino_man279

iTrader: (7)

Did you check your seals by the wheel bearings? You could be losing fluid out the end of the axles. If this is the case, the inside of your wheels will have a noticeable coating of gear lube on them. Just a thought on where to check for the missing fluid.

Rich3fan

Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, he looked at the rims and did point out the fact that there was no oil there. The oil, or at least what I think is gear oil is on the housing, right side axle, a corner of the gas tank and on one of my mufflers, both also on the right side. I know it wasn't leaking out the fill plug just because of how hard it was to get that damn thing loose, but since I never got to the point where I had to unscrew the housing's drain plug, I can't speak to it's intergity.

Another source of relief was that there was absolutely no metal stuck to the MAC cover's magnet. Not even anything of that sort on the bottom of the housing.

I just ordered a Ratech "complete" install kit so as soon as the necessary parts are installed, end of story.

chino_man279

iTrader: (7)

Well the only places the fluid can leave are the cover, fill/drain plug, vent, pinion seal, and axle seals. The stuff does not exactly evaporate. The tubes dont have any oil on them do they? I have seen hairline cracks in the axle tubes themselves that will seep fluid through. Hope you get it straightened out. At least parts are cheap for a 10 bolt, rebuilding them just sucks.

Rich3fan

Yes, the right side tube was pretty cruddy, but the housing itself was the worst. I couldn't even see the drain plug. I'm going to get under there this week and clean everything up real good then keep an eye on it.

Rich3fan

I need opinions: With the information above regarding the amount of fluid loss and the resulting heat, what can happen to the ring & pinion gears? I mean, he said they got too hot and will probably never be able to be made quiet, but what else can happen? I realize that heat will shorten their life expectancy, but I'm faced with either replacing them with new 3.73's, leaving them in, or going back to my stock 3.23's. For all I know, the fluid level could have been that low for 3 + years. I don't know if the car will ever see track time again, but who knows. I guess what I'm asking is simply, what would you do? All opinions/suggestions appreciated.