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mpbronso
Dodge Dakota
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6/24/2005
17:19:26
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 Subject: Metal Chunks in Rear Differential
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So I had my 2000 4.7 4x4 (90k+) in the shop today for some maintenance. When they pulled the cover off the rear differential there were 3-4 "dime-sized" chunks of metal in there. The mech. didn't know what they were except that they came from the limited slip mechanism, but even still he can't see anything in the differential that looks broken or missing. they threw the cover back on, filled the differential, and tested it, and say they can't detect any problem with the differential--everything runs great.
I thought he may have been screwing me until he said his shop doesn't do work on differentials and they don't send business to any that do. he said "unfortunately" that i am probably going to have to take it to the stealership.
first of all, how scared should i be to drive this thing?
second of all, how much should i expect to pay for a rebuild?
third, what is the problem with this thing?
thanks.
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Zach
Dodge Dakota
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6/24/2005
18:27:56
|  RE: Metal Chunks in Rear Differential
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It could be the clutch material from the limited slip, when I had my differential apart I found a few small pieces of it.
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WardenJ
Dodge Dakota
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6/24/2005
18:36:23
| RE: Metal Chunks in Rear Differential
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I found metal in mine at about 66K miles. It was also making a grinding type noise when I would start into a turn from a dead stop. I took it to a driveline shop who told me the bracketry for the limited slip clutches had broken, allowing the side gears to move away from each other ever so slightly. This caused them to be ever so slightly out of mesh, so the teeth were chipping away at each other. Long story short, it was about 660 bucks for everything except the ring and pinion to be replaced. The shop said this is a common failure for Dodge differentials. Probably want to take it in to a good rear end shop now before you get catastrophic failure. Good luck!
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mpbronso
Dodge Dakota
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6/24/2005
20:02:41
| RE: Metal Chunks in Rear Differential
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yeah i've got absolutely no noise or any other erradic behavior coming from the rear end.
zach--did you have yours rebuilt, or just keep driving it?
by the way, it's been 30k since i've had the rear end serviced so i am really curious as to how long these things have been out of whack. it's been scary to think about.
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Mason
Dodge Dakota
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6/25/2005
01:00:38
| RE: Metal Chunks in Rear Differential
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Take those pieces (you did keep them, didn't you) to a reputable rear end shop. If they know their stuff, they'll be able to tell you what it is right away, and whether more inside work is required.
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mpbronso
Dodge Dakota
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6/25/2005
11:49:13
| RE: Metal Chunks in Rear Differential
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okay a little update. stealership saw my chunks and knew they were clips that broke off of the case/carrier that is inside the differential. i have no idea what any of this means. they pulled it upen and here is a breakdown of what they say they need to do.
new case/carrier--$642
new bearings--$47.60x2
new cups--$23.20x2
labor--6 hours @ $90/hour=$540
after tax i think i am going to be in about $1500 deep.
what do we think? could i get a rear end shop to do this for less?
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blakels
Dodge Dakota
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6/25/2005
12:27:17
| RE: Metal Chunks in Rear Differential
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Don't let that dealership screw you like that. Find a shop that specializes in axle repair. I bet their estimate will be 1/4 to 1/3 of what the dealership quoted. Poat your area and I'm sure someone here could recommend a place. They are trying to charge you $150 for 2 diff case bearings that you could buy at ANY auto parts store for less than $30. Also, any good mechanic could replace a diff in less than 2 hours, they're not even touching the pinion.
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marc
Dodge Dakota
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6/25/2005
22:58:36
| RE: Metal Chunks in Rear Differential
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i've had a whining noise comming from my rear end for like the past 10k miles, and i was told changing the oil might lessen the noise. i jack up the truck and get up under it, and i can't find the fill hole. i've changed the fluid in a couple chevy's and a couple fords, but they all had plugs at the top. does the dak not have that? in the manual it doesn't say anything about changing the fluid under normal driving conditions, but under rough conditions, you're supposed to do it every 12k. wtf?
02 3.92 lsd
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Joe
Dodge Dakota
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6/26/2005
00:30:50
| RE: Metal Chunks in Rear Differential
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Fill hole is in the diff cover. Poke at it until you find the rubber plug.
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another mark
Dodge Dakota
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6/28/2005
01:57:52
| RE: Metal Chunks in Rear Differential
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GET YOUR TRUCK OUT OF THAT DEALERSHIP NOW! Take it to a shop that specializes in gears and rear ends. It's not that expensive to do this.
I don't understand why you had the first shop take it apart if they didn't know/work on rear ends in the first place.
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Hoss01
Dodge Dakota
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6/28/2005
12:21:50
| RE: Metal Chunks in Rear Differential
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In similar past experiences I've had with this, I found the best answer for myself was to go to a salvage yard and find a donor truck with low mileage to take one from. This is usually about half of what it will cost to pay somebody to fix it, plus you now have spare parts for later needs.
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Figols
Dodge Dakota
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6/28/2005
12:32:13
| RE: Metal Chunks in Rear Differential
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Don't go used or you'll end up with another piece of junk. These LSD rears are not durable! Even the one garage told you that. If you plan on keeping the truck go to a good shop that knows rear ends. Buy an aftermarket LSD unit (like Auburn) or even better, get a Powertrax locker (About $400.) and you'll never have a diff problem again. HAve the sop install the better rear and at the same time replace the bearings. While they're in there they should make sure there is no damage to the ring & pinion or the pinion bearing.
My '00 rear end was shot at 83K miles. The LSD unit was shot along with the pinion bearing. VERY VERY COMMON!!! I was going to rebuild it just like I described to you, but I decided to unload the truck since it had numerous other problems and I was tired of fixing it all of the time.
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mpbronso
Dodge Dakota
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6/28/2005
12:59:27
| RE: Metal Chunks in Rear Differential
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well, i had it rebuilt with stock parts. already have the truck back. figols, i regret not having gone with an aftermarket diff, your advice really makes a lot of sense. maybe i'll think about it when the truck hits 180k and this thing blows again. this has been a great little truck and has had virtually no problems. still looks great too. i honestly expected major problems to hit way before 90k on this dodge.
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manjula
Dodge Dakota
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10/10/2007
10:34:36
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