I broke my butt...

[MeenZ28]

As I've been talking about in the daily chit chat thread, my car did somthing very strange last night on my way home from my Dad's house. Since a pic is worth 1000 words....
attachment.jpg
I was coming off a left hand turn, not fast at all mind you, and just as I finished the turn it felt like the tranny left go. Car reved every time i hit the gas and got no forward movement. Felt like it went right into neutral all of a sudden. Coasted to the curb and saw that.

Now when I got it home, I pulled the cover off and the c-clip was laying in the sludge at the bottom. It clearly popped out and thats why the axle shaft walked out on me. Passenger side is fine... It was too dark to see much of anything under there but from what I could see with a flash light, the carrier looks fine, no obvious damage, gears look fine, center pin still present and bolted in, and the carrier spins with the drive shaft and the passenger side wheel with no hang ups.

I've never touched the differental on this car before and by the looks of it, no one has. It's as grimey and dirty as a 24 year old rear end can be. I'm not hard on the car, no burn outs, no racing, no auto-xing. I drive the car 14miles a day, 5 days a week all surface streets (can't remember the last time i was on a freeway with her). That's it. I'm assuming the big 20" x 10" wheels are putting more stress on it than stock wheels would but I doubt that would cause this. Nither would the air ride....

Thanks to the sugestions of BlackJesus and 1BadAir - I will be checking the end of the axle shaft to see if it has broken off and the center pin in the diff. for wear. Otherwise I don't know how the c-clip could come off.

A few questions I have...
How can the c-clip come off if the center pin is still securely in the carrier?
How likely is the axle shaft bent from the car sitting in the above pic for over an hour?
Even if it's not bent, how safe would reusing that shaft be at this point?

I'm not new to rear ends but I'm not a genius either. If I missed any important info please ask. Help me help you help me. Any and all help will be appreciated.

[MeenZ28]

Here are some important pics....

End of the axle shaft. Not broken off. The splines don't look as clean as I'd like but nothing too concerning i think.

Center pin still in place.

C-clip. Looks to be in good shape....

[MeenZ28]

Here's where it gets interesting...

The lock screw for the center pin was sheared off. So much in fact that the center pin would rotate as I tried to remove it.

Now I spent a few hours trying to knock that center pin out with a hammer. My understanding is that it's suppose to come right out once the lock screw is out. Sometimes it gets a little stubborn but it's not suppose to stand up to repeated blows from a mini sledge and a chisel... Eventually I gave up cause it wasn't moving any further than about 3/4" out the opposite side. Got frusterated and went inside for dinner....

[MeenZ28]

After dinner decided to try something. If the center pin was an issue and let the c-clip fall out of the driver side, maybe I could get the c-clip out of the passenger side too. It took some wrestling but I got the driver-side out too. Axle and all. Then the carrier came out. With it sitting on my work bench I was able to get the pin out with a full fledged sledge hammer.

There's some obvious wear on the lock screw side you can see.
Once the pin was out I examined the other parts...

This is the smaller spider gear that the worn end of the center pin was in. The inside of this gear is torn up too. I can't physically get the center pin back threw this one. And the bushing is clearly toast.

Clearly it's not as bad as it could be. But there's things that need to be fixed. I know for a fact the center pin and the lock screw needs replaced.
*Here's the question - can I just replace the spider gears/bushings and be ok?
*Or does the entire carrier need replaced?
*Can you even buy the center spider gears?
*Should I be worried about the axle shafts?
I really need your help here as I'm extremely broke right now and I need to get the car back on the road asap.

[NullHead]

Personally, I'd get a pick a part / salvage yard unit and swap over components as necessary. I wouldn't bother with the axles or carrier. Just swap the spider gearts, cross pin and lock bolt. Is it 100% correct? Meh, it'll get ya by though.

[BlackJesus]

Buy a replacement axle for around $100. Do a visual inspection and run it.

The likelihood of someone on here having a spare 3rd gen axle is high.

[NullHead]

I have a complete 2.73 10 bolt kickin around. Open carrier with drum brakes. Cheap if you want it ... buy me lunch? I have trucks. Can deliver for a small fee. Actually, I might even have a carrier kicking around. Want gears too? Bearings? I have a handfull of parts now that I'm thinking of it ..

edit: Er, whoops just seen you aren't in Michigan. I can get an estimate on shipping stuff if you really want, but it's probably more cost effective for you to get your own used parts locally to you.

[Atrus]

^^ Really cool of you to want to help out with very little, if anything in return Jon...and even willing to ship. Kudos to you!

[MeenZ28]

I do apperciate it guys. Its times like these i really regret not being closer to you. However, shipping these things i think would be a nightmare... More or less i just need your honest opinion on what should be replaced based on what has happened and what you see in the pics.

[WMCC Gary]

Buy a replacement axle for around $100. Do a visual inspection and run it.

[MeenZ28]

Does that axle shaft really look that bad?

BTW, can someone tell me what diff this is? I know it's a 10 bolt but my knowledge stops there. 7.5"? 7.625"? Dana44? Is it posi or non? I'm kinda lost now after looking at parts...

[MP81]

It's a 7.5" 10-bolt.

[MeenZ28]

Great, that helps. And I'm pretty sure it's a non-posi unit too.

[MP81]

Great, that helps. And I'm pretty sure it's a non-posi unit too.

If you have rear drums, it's quite possible.

[MeenZ28]

well when the car is in neutral and i spin the wheels, they rotate in oppoisite directions. That's how I know.

Back to the other question, from the pic does that axle really look that bad? I honestly don't think it's bent and the splines look ok?