Stupid Diff Clicking...

[cozea]

ok so i stripped my main bevel gear in my rear diff. so i went and got a new one. and it works ok except it makes a weird clicking sound when its moving. its new gears and grease but it clicks for some reason. i could get a video of what i mean by clicking tommorow if that helps.. i dont know if its a problem or if i can just leave it how it is.

any help would be very nice. thankyou.

 

[jon2]

the Diff or tranny? If it is the tranny I was told By SkyMaxx that this is common on new TMAXXs. It should go away after it is broken in and that may take a gallon.

 

[cozea]

no, I'm pretty sure its not the tranny

maybe its just because its a new gear in the diff it has to work in a little. and its not a new truck. i just dont want to have to spend another 20 bucks on new gears so I'm sorta scared to drive it. and i dont want to be taking it apart over and over.

 

[jon2]

what type pf diff grease did you put in? I don't know clicking sounds make me wonder. I would re-check it.

 

[SkyMaxx]

The clicking might be the gears working themselves in, but I would still take the time to crack it open and make certain that all screws are snugged the way they should be and that all of the gears are where they belong. I'd also make certain there were no spare parts floating around in the diff grease.

So...take it apart and carefully put it back together. If the thing continues to click, give it some time and see what happens.

 

[bigboystoysguy]

is it definatley audible, or is it barely hearable when you drive by at idle? if its realy loud then you may have no choice but to tear it aprt again. if its kinda quiet but still audible check and see if tis constant, like every rotation it makes that same noise every time, it dosent do it when it wants to. if its constant its just the new gears.

 

[FastEddy]

It could be one of several things.
Look at the case. If the case has a crack, it will flex and make a clicking noise. The same goes for the dif brace.

Check the inside of the diff cup. There are 2 grooves in the side for the pin to ride in. These grooves can get damaged and wont hold the pin in the proper place.

Shimming could be an issue as well. If the gears are to loose or tight they can cause noise.

Bad bearings may be an issue as well.

As Sky mentioned, look at the cup screws and make sure they are tight and that the gear is properly seated against the cup.

If you fried a diff gear there is usually other damage that accrued as well.

 

[olds97_lss]

Just to check, did you replace the diff cup inside that holds the spider gears as well? The pin that holds the spider gears wears grooves in the plastic cup that allows the spider gears to get out of alignment and cause binding.

Also, what center axles are you running? I had a clicking noise that was coming from my cvd's. Where the dog bone end connects to the tranny, the dog bone ears wore grooves in the tranny outdrive. When the axle turned, the ears would go into the groove and pop out of the groove due to the angle the axle travels in. I replaced the out drive cups and the problem went away.

Also, if your going to rebuild the diffs, I would suggest replacing the spider gear plastic cup and ring gear with a Maximizer Aluminum Diff Cup and modified stock gear. It's made out of 7075 al and doesn't succomb to the wear problems the stock plastic one has. It's not cheap, but it's worth it in my book. It makes the diff gears last much longer.

Case in point, within one gallon on my 21 maxx, I had to replace the diff cup and ring gear 3 times. Just before I started gallon two, I replaced the stock ones with the Maximizer cups and I have 1 and 1/2 gallons on it now. I took it apart before I started the 1/2 gallon and there is absolutely no wear on the ring gear, spider gears or the diff cup.

You can find the diff cup @ http://www.lightninghobby.com/store/viewitem.asp?idproduct=3747