Metal shavings in rear axle

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by dphillips, Mar 29, 2015.

  1. dphillips

    dphillips Light Load Member

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    So I'm driving through Indianapolis doing 55mph. and all of a sudden I start to hear a vooping noise almost like the rumble strips on the side of the road. I slow down it gets worse.i speed up to 65mph it goes away . it sounds like a belt broke on my driver side steer tire which I was going to change the next day .changed it problem doesn't go away.I take it to a shop the guy opens the plug on the rear axle shows me metal shavings says there big chunks of metal in there. So if the problems in the differential why does it feel like it's in the front wheel.any advice would be good.thank you . I have a 2007 Volvo 670 with around 730000 miles.
     
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  3. zraffz

    zraffz Bobtail Member

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    Do you feel it in the steering wheel?
    I don't have much experience with the rears on these big trucks but any bad races in the rear generally feel like a bad universal joint.
     
  4. EZ Money

    EZ Money Road Train Member

    Big junks of metal sounds like a rear end gear or destroyed bearing, anyway NOT GOOD....I would not drive it until you get it checked out.
    Sound radiates through the drive train and can sound like its coming from somewhere else..
    Or you have 2 issues going on at the same time.
     
    MZdanowicz Thanks this.
  5. Oscar the KW

    Oscar the KW Going Tarpless

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    I had a carrier bearing come apart last November, when it went I thought it was the truck that was passing me. Pull it apart now before all hell let's loose! They get real expensive when you have to replace everything.
     
  6. Starboyjim

    Starboyjim Road Train Member

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    EZ and Oscar are telling you true. If you wait, or try to live with it, you'll wind up on a road side somewhere very inconvenient and expensive. Those chunks are a sign - something is wrong with your rear end. ( !!! ) I will ask the Gods to be merciful when the invoice comes your way.
     
    icsheeple Thanks this.
  7. baha

    baha Road Train Member

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    Maybe its just the power/div. but its cheaper to fix now without the tow bill.
     
  8. WitchingHour

    WitchingHour Road Train Member

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    I'd open up the diff cover and have a look at those ring and pinion gears. If your lash goes out too far, it can very easily have that effect.
    Keep in mind that the entire driveline is connected at all times.. some people seem to think that a power divider works like a transfer case, where it engages an axle when you flip it on, but this is not the case.. both axles have power supplied to them at all times. Vibrations and such will be transmitted up the drivetrain and the entire frame of the truck.
    Barring that, it's possible you've got another issue going on, as well, and one that might be in your steer axle. Are you noticing any cupping or feather edge wear on your steers? Do you get vibrations as you're turning? Does your truck pull excessively to one side?
     
  9. uncleal13

    uncleal13 Road Train Member

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    I has just getting going one morning, took off from a light climbing a small hill when I felt something in the driveline give a little. Then as I accelerated pass about 35 it kind of sounded like you are describing. Conveniently only two blocks away was a truck dealer that I hobbled over to. They got me in right away, dropped off the trailer and took a mechanic for a spin so he could hear it.
    They put it in the shop and put it up on jack stands, fired it up and engaged the driveline to confirm the noise was coming from the rear end. We thought it was the front diff, so they disconnected the shaft between the diifs, fired it back up and the noise was still there, so we knew it was the front diif.
    They pulled out the gear assembly (hoggs head) and found all of the support bearings had basically come apart. So they threw in a whole replacement hoggs head and I was back in business the end of the next day, minus $5,800
     
  10. icsheeple

    icsheeple Trailing the Herd

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    Bwahahahahahahaha. That's a good one.
     
  11. ColoradoGreen

    ColoradoGreen Heavy Load Member

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    Sounds like something is hopping or skipping inside the diff, maybe giving a lurching feel that you're feeling up-front.

    Regardless, get it parked and get the rears opened up. If you're finding significant chunks of steel in the diff, something has grenaded, and the longer it's tossing around in there the more it's going to tear up. Diffs aren't the most expensive major component, but, that doesn't mean they're cheap.
     
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