Differential Acting Up

[Andy]

I look to CAC folks again on an issue...

Here's the problem..may not even be my differential, but.......then what could it be..???


My 1979...when i drive under 5MPH, slowing down, going around a corner....I keep hearing a noise from the back of the car....Sounds like a grinding noise coming from my drivers tire area. The sound does not happen all the time, probably 50% of the time. Once i get over 5mph, i hear NOTHING and am fine....absolutely fine....no issues ever.....problem is the noise when i slow down.or turn a corner...and again it is an intermittent problem, the hardest kind i"n my opinion" to diagnose.

What symptoms should the car experience if the differential is slowly going bad?

The car just passed inspection here in Pennsylvania and pretty much I am putting to bed for the off season shortly.

Generally speaking, what type of costs am I looking at..(go ahead and be brutal as I'll surely need to save $$$$ for this repair)...

Many Thanks,

Andy

 

[steelblue75]

Any play in the wheel when you jack the car up? wheel bearing bad maby?
how about the diff. have you changed the lub and pos. additive lately? Good luck on finding the problem,

 

[HulDug72]

Had the same problem on my 72. Changed the lubricant and the positraction additive and it cured the problem. CHEERS!

 

[Scott Winebarger]

Andy , can you send me some pics of you car to my email, i want to get a look at your doors , hood and other mods. cj5nutz@yahoo.com

 

[Andy]

Sure....I'll try to get them out today..

Andy

Andy , can you send me some pics of you car to my email, i want to get a look at your doors , hood and other mods. cj5nutz@yahoo.com

 

[L48]

If you had a serious problem, I think it would get worse as vehicle speed increased.

You may want to look at the brakes. Maybe you have some rust building up on the outside edge of the rotor that is rubbing against the pad. Once you get above a certain speed it pushes the pad back far enough that it stops. Try rolling to a stop without the brakes, then starting again and see if you still have the problem.

 

[Andy]

When i roll to a stop WITHOUT the brakes applied, I get NO noise at all..think it's a buildup of rust??????


Andy

If you had a serious problem, I think it would get worse as vehicle speed increased.

You may want to look at the brakes. Maybe you have some rust building up on the outside edge of the rotor that is rubbing against the pad. Once you get above a certain speed it pushes the pad back far enough that it stops. Try rolling to a stop without the brakes, then starting again and see if you still have the problem.

 

[L48]

When i roll to a stop WITHOUT the brakes applied, I get NO noise at all..think it's a buildup of rust??????

Andy

It would certainly be worth checking. Particularly if the car does not stay in a garage all the time, and is not driven daily.

You may also have a caliper that sticks just a little bit - either due to rust or a brake hose that is slow to release. But it really sounds like rust rubbing on the pad or something inside there.

In either case I think that will be way easier than getting into the differential. Let us know what you find.