misterp Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 For the life of me I wonder how some of you guys keep your trucks in one piece. This morning the truck did a WOT 1-2 upshift and BANG stripped a tooth (or two) off the front pinion gear; additionally the driveshafts now rotate ok in one direction but bind up if you try to rotate in the opposite direction so it is looking like the sprag in the trans got damaged too. I've got a replacement front axle on the way, and a plan to try and 'coax' the sprag to relieve itself but if not then the trans has to come out *again*. And it of course could not happen at a worse time as I have my kids with me. I think I can borrow a car tomorrow though but I gotta get to Lewisville to get it Thank you to my friends that are helping me out with this - you guys are the best. Mr. P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted July 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 So, can the front axle housing be reinforced to prevent flexing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
04CHASE Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 good call , have you taken it apart? i have never been into the frotn diff at all. im sure if there are any kind of main caps you could find something from arp that would work. maybe weld some gussets on to the housing to keep it from flexing too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortec MAX Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 Man, you have the worst luck. You are not even running forced induction...are you? Then there's Chase smoking all fours, and he hasn't touched the front axle. You definitely have bad luck. I hope it is not contagious I wish you the best of luck...you need it. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolBlueSS Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 That sucks bad, Steve. Let me know if you need anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSThunder Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 Sorry to hear the bad news MrP. Hope you get it fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 I'm guessing you don't play the lottery much... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detjoe Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 were you turning or going stright?? sorry to hear about this, time to make the front bullet proof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted July 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 (edited) No FI, truck has stock LQ9 with tune & 2800-RPM converter; I was basically driving the truck in a straight line, merging from the suicide lane into the lane onto my right. The front wheels turn smoothly, the front spider gears/diff are fine but the pinion has definitely got a stripped spot (missing tooth). So the diff did not fail, I'm thinking that the aluminum case flexed but I need to get a more educated opinion on that. What I'm thinking is contacting some of the 4x4/off-road shops and seeing what they have to say about this front axle; it probably won't be anything flattering. But they might be able to offer a couple ideas how to reinforce the case to prevent it from flexing like that. I got a feeling it's had the problem a long time as the front pinion seal has always dripped, that was the only spot on the whole truck that ever leaked any fluid. Mr. P. Edited July 10, 2007 by Mr. P. (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 I don't think it's flex that's the problem. There are trucks out there running on the same front diff and putting down way more power with hard shifts (Parish as an example). My guess would be that you were getting deflection on the gear set from a bad pinion bearing which is fairly common in the AWD trucks. If the pinion bearings get bad, it will allow the pinion gear to walk up the ring gear and on a hard shift that will break it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krambo Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 Are you the first to break the front? I can't recall anyone else doing it. I know BigTex messed something up but not sure if it was the front end or the T-case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.justin. Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 I don't think it's flex that's the problem. There are trucks out there running on the same front diff and putting down way more power with hard shifts (Parish as an example). My guess would be that you were getting deflection on the gear set from a bad pinion bearing which is fairly common in the AWD trucks. If the pinion bearings get bad, it will allow the pinion gear to walk up the ring gear and on a hard shift that will break it. That's some good info there zippy, thanks for sharing. Mr. P, hope you get that fixed quick and without the need for any transmission repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZZebes Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 That sucks P hope you get it fixed soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brobradh77 Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 Steve sorry about your luck man..I wont try suggesting to drive like me again your right thats like asking MIchael not to wash his truck..lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolBlueSS Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 thats like asking MIchael not to wash his truck..lolWe all know that's NOT going to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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