Outer Limits 4x4 Board

been driving fine with no dramas for the 6 months i've had the thing, then on the way down to sydney the other week i started to get a real howl out of the drivetrain somewhere. got it back from sydney on the weekend (wasn't driving in syd), howling in all gears under load. have since removed the rear tail-shaft and driven around FWD, no noises.

assuming rear diff is shot, has been suggested maybe pinion bearings? (could have confused two seperate things here...) what's "normal" to go on a standard WT rear diff? any easy fixes?

am still driving in FWD, this shouldn't cause excessive wear on anything should it?

I drove round in front wheel drive for a while in mine when I did a pinion bearing be careful with it as the pinion can be "pulled into" the carrier and under certain conditions can lock the rear diff, though this is unlikley.

Grab the pinion flange give it a "wobble" if you can feel movement .. it's stuffed basically ..

so what options do i have? rebuild($$?)? buy diff centre? buy axle?

stumped wrote:so what options do i have? rebuild($$?)? buy diff centre? buy axle?

first off you need to know whats wrong ??
Is it the pionon bearing ?? if so you will need a new pinion bearing, seals and crush sleeve/pinion spacer .. and someone who knows how to put it all together ..
is it the diff bearings ?? they are pretty cheap about 15 to 20 a set from memory, but you will still need to set the gears back up once you change em.
Is it a chipped gear ? will make a bearing like noise, but only occasionally , as the chipped teeth mesh together..

If you can find one .. grab a second hand unit and bung it in .. then at your lesuire, fix up the one you have .. use it as a learning experiance.

love_mud wrote:

stumped wrote:so what options do i have? rebuild($$?)? buy diff centre? buy axle?

first off you need to know whats wrong ??
Is it the pionon bearing ?? if so you will need a new pinion bearing, seals and crush sleeve/pinion spacer .. and someone who knows how to put it all together ..
is it the diff bearings ?? they are pretty cheap about 15 to 20 a set from memory, but you will still need to set the gears back up once you change em.
Is it a chipped gear ? will make a bearing like noise, but only occasionally , as the chipped teeth mesh together..

If you can find one .. grab a second hand unit and bung it in .. then at your lesuire, fix up the one you have .. use it as a learning experiance.

Can the pinion bearing be changed from the front of the diff or do you have to pull the centre out??

bigsteve wrote:

love_mud wrote:

stumped wrote:so what options do i have? rebuild($$?)? buy diff centre? buy axle?

first off you need to know whats wrong ??
Is it the pionon bearing ?? if so you will need a new pinion bearing, seals and crush sleeve/pinion spacer .. and someone who knows how to put it all together ..
is it the diff bearings ?? they are pretty cheap about 15 to 20 a set from memory, but you will still need to set the gears back up once you change em.
Is it a chipped gear ? will make a bearing like noise, but only occasionally , as the chipped teeth mesh together..

If you can find one .. grab a second hand unit and bung it in .. then at your lesuire, fix up the one you have .. use it as a learning experiance.

Can the pinion bearing be changed from the front of the diff or do you have to pull the centre out??

You have to pull the centre to set the gears up again (as the pinion depth will most likley change, as you should be using a new crush sleeve\spacer as well)

It may be cheapest to just pick up another 3rd member with a pinion bearing that is still in good nick and chuck that in?

That'd fix the problem wouldn't it?

are front and rear centres the same?

stumped wrote:are front and rear centres the same?

I think some of the gears are different... i recall that Grimbo has had a rear locker put into the front of his car - so they must be pretty close to being the same right?

but does it leave the shed?


i shouldn't talk tho, front wheel drive sux

stumped wrote:but does it leave the shed?

Now you're jumping on the pick on grimbo ship too

Poor grimbo - i was chatting with him on the weekend and he says that he misses his little truck.

oh well... Hurry up with that rwc grimbo

yeah leave me alone

Yes I had my air locker moved from the back to the front but i had to get new side gears for it to fit. I don't know what that means but that is the facts jack

Next week my little shelf will go in for a rwc I think

grimbo wrote:yeah leave me alone

Yes I had my air locker moved from the back to the front but i had to get new side gears for it to fit. I don't know what that means but that is the facts jack

Next week my little shelf will go in for a rwc I think

the rear diff has a 27 spline 1.09 inch (I think) axle the front is a 19 spline .9 inch axle .. (these are very rough numbers in inches, but I am pretty certain the spline count is correct)

So no a fron centre cannot be used "directly" in the rear, but by swapping the side gears your good to go (the side gears are interchangeable)

grimbo wrote:Next week my little shelf will go in for a rwc I think

Self thrown gauntlet...

Place your bets here

$10 says you don't get organised enough to get it done.

greg wrote:

grimbo wrote:Next week my little shelf will go in for a rwc I think

Self thrown gauntlet...

Place your bets here

$10 says you don't get organised enough to get it done.

I will bet $20 that gerg does not collect any money ....

love_mud wrote:

greg wrote:

grimbo wrote:Next week my little shelf will go in for a rwc I think

Self thrown gauntlet...

Place your bets here

$10 says you don't get organised enough to get it done.

I will bet $20 that gerg does not collect any money ....

I fold

stumped did this noise start before or after you fit the 4.16 gears ???? removing the rear tail shaft & driving front wheels only will reduce the load on the rear output shaft bearing in the transfer case. you did say the noise was under load . Your probably right with a diff or wheel bearing being the problem but bearing noises can deceive.

I drove my TJ wrangler around for a few weeks in front wheel drive whilst I was waiting for parts to fix my broken rear shaft, It did filthy burnouts with 4 litres of grunt going through the front wheels.

nelligen wrote:stumped did this noise start before or after you fit the 4.16 gears ???? removing the rear tail shaft & driving front wheels only will reduce the load on the rear output shaft bearing in the transfer case. you did say the noise was under load . Your probably right with a diff or wheel bearing being the problem but bearing noises can deceive.

the noise was before we fitted the calmini's, so it's not the transfer.... got a mate who know's 'bout such things to look at it and he reckons diff, but wheel bearings is worth looking into too...


... although, if it was wheelbearings wouldn't the noise be constant? not just under load, and even without drive to the rear (like now)?

Wheel bearings usually are more pronounced when turning, with side loads on them.

xtreem wrote:Wheel bearings usually are more pronounced when turning, with side loads on them.

doesn't sounds like wheel bearings then... guess i'll be trying the diff