silverware in my transmission....

[endeffect0]

two days ago when i was coming to coming to a stop before turning into my driveway i heard a horrible clunking/grinding/rattling sound from under my car. the sounds went away as soon as i came to a stop and didnt come back the entire way up my driveway (its about a 1/4 mile long strait up hill).

so i got under the car and discovered that my drives side cv joint was blown and spewing junk everywhere so i replaced it, i also discovered that the sway-bar ends were missing.. another wonderful gift from the previous owner..

so i got new sway bar ends and replaced the drive axle then took it for a ride..... about a mile from my house all the sudden it sounds like every cooking and eating utensil in my house is banging around in a spinning metal drum beneath my car...

the sound seems to come from everywhere i cant really say that is coming from the front or back, left or right. you can feel it in the floor and petals. and it makes no diffrence if your on the gas, breaking, clutch in or out, doesn't even matter if its in gear. The sound does not stop till you stop moving and once you have you can move again with out any protest until ya hit about 20mph, in any gear. then you have to grind to a full stop before you can go again. when i made a K turn to limp back home it would make the sound at very low speed, much slower than when going in a strait line.

given all this i think that my center diff is dead... but thats only an ignorant guess...
what do you guys think? were should i look next??

sorry for the long post but i wanted you all to have the full story so i wouldn't have to answer all those simple questions later....

 

[just2asian]

i am gonna have to say that you can bet your money on the center diff. Sounds exactally like what happened to my buddies tranny. It is currently at the tranny shop and low and behold it was the center diff, but his tranny wasn't even worth rebuilding because it chewed up the inside of the tranny as well. The faster you can get that tranny out and looked at the less damage u may be doing to it as well as repair bills.

 

[hopwoodp]

Thats what my transfer case sounded like when it went out. After a few miles it went away. A few days later I got another transfer case and the recall kit and was AWD again.

But, what you described in the conditions that the sound was coming from and how everything was involved it was the same as what happened to me. The only difference is my sway bar and cv boot was intact. Instead my transfer case was leaking and the case was cracked pretty good.

Your best bet is to take some time and jack up the front of the car. Look for cracks or leaks and it will help you isolate the problem somewhat.

 

[talonTSIDriver]

yeah, drain your t-case, if chucks of metal come out or your fluid looks like it has LOTS of sparkles, then replace the t-case. otherwise rip the tranny out and replace the center diff.

 

[endeffect0]

yea thats kinda what i suspected, have yet to dive under the car to look at it... kinda bums me out when i'm looking out at the driveway and seeing that car just sitin their..

so heres another interesting question: my car came with a spare trans, the six bolt swap was partialy finished and the old 7bolt came with the car and so did this mystery trans... how can i tell what generation the trans is from and will a fist gen trans work in a second gen car??

Thanks for the help guys! this site is great... even if i ever only get bad news