Rear binding and vibrating bad

[white90gsx]

After letting my brother take my car to work the car is all messed up.. When I pull out it shakes what feels to be the passenger rear wheel and when I come to a stop. Also when I drive over 45mph the car vibrates more than normal..I went through the drive thru and I swore as I pulled out one wheel spun on a oil patch..Also it will hold you on small hills without coasting back. I jacked it up to check the wheel bearing but everything was tight..What can this be????

 

[Auto RS T]

Turn your car in the tightest circle it will go at a slow speed in a parking lot.

Does the car "bind up" ?

Do the wheels skip while doing the tight slow circle?

From what you described it sounds like a broken center differential. That is the best test I know of with out actually removing the center diff from the transmission.

 

[93_tsi_fwd]

Ask your brother how he drove it. He might have had a fun time driving it, lauching, drift, etc.

Did you check if the alinement is still good?

 

[TheBoosted96GST]

what excatly is it doing? all the time (at all speeds) taking off from a stop throughtout driving range? Sounds like a rear diff problem, did you ask your brother what happend when he took it to work? theres a lot of things it could be tho, have you looked under the car to make sure there's no visual damage driveline maybe. Go to a parking lot and do decent sharp turns see if you hear - feel binding/popping. Does the car have LSD?

 

[white90gsx]

well of course hes going to lie to me I asked him already.I did the circle test and to the left it feels like the wheels are trying to break loose like a 4wd truck and to the right just a bad rumble.If it is the center diff would the car have to be beat bad to break and how much is it to fix?


No lsd it never did this for at least 2 months now until today.It does it when I pull out and when I come to a stop and rumbles bad over 45mph.

 

[TheBoosted96GST]

Sounds like a center diff possibably rear diff, I would say your bro probably launched the hell outta it. If you do the work yourself it won't cost too much, not cheap tho. If you have someone else do it, it'll probably cost a pretty penny. If you do have someone do the work you outta see about having jackstransmissions do it. I've heard great things, and when I rebuild my spare tranny i'm gonna get all my parts from him, he's a trustworthy guy and I like doing business with those kinda people.

 

[white90gsx]

How would I go about finding out for sure so I can start the fixing process and is it possible i can disable the rear for now because i am unemployed.

 

[Auto RS T]

What you described sounds like the center diff, all except for the rumbling when you pull out.

To disable the rears, you can pull the driveshaft out and see where that gets you. If you still have a problem, I would say it is in the rear.

 

[white90gsx]

The center? I would think the rear diff.

 

[white90gsx]

I sorry to be a pest but does anyone know a sure 100% way to find out?

 

[white90gsx]

ok well I found fluid leaking form the transfer case Im going to put the car on a lift tomorrow to see were it coming from.

 

[white90gsx]

I put the car on the lift and the fluid was coming from the oil return line. I drained the fluid in the rear and transfer case and I found shavings in the transfer case but they are really really small like glitter but I was told that that is normal and I put fresh fluid in it..I drove the car today and I did 70mph and no vibration but it seams real choppy and the it still feels like a 4wd truck around turns and still rumbles at like 10-15mph and when coming to a stop and also when I'm at wot. The fluid in the rear was fine....

What about the carrier bearing?
Can I get some feedback....

 

[4pistons]

A bad center diff would give you a choppy, tire skipping ride in tight, slow circles. Center diffs can go bad without doing any hard launches. The stock side thrust washers are notorious for failure.

To check the carrier bearings get under the car and try to move the drive shaft around. If it clunks when you turn the driveshaft back and forth it's the u-joints. If you can move the driveshaft up and down or left and right then the carrier bearings are at fault.

Rick - '91 GSX

 

[white90gsx]

I moved the drive shaft all over the u-joints look pretty good maybe a hair of movement thats it but the carrier bearing closest to the transfer case is a little worn. What ways can I use to check the if the rear diff is bad because like I said I found no shavings in the fluid. I had talked to a 4 wheel drive specialist and he said even if the carrier bearings are shot it will not affect the way the rear wheels actually move but the vibration most likely is the bearings. I am getting a whine from the rear now that I never got before and the shaking seems to be getting more often when slowing down without brakes.

 

[4pistons]

What ways can I use to check the if the rear diff is bad

With the car in the air turn one rear wheel. If you have an LSD then the other wheel will turn in the same direction. If everything turns freely, and there's no debris in the oil, and the oil level is good then the rear diff is probably good. You could also remove the rear cover and visually inspect the gears for wear or damage.

If you have a vibration at speed it's most likely the u-joints or the carrier not the diff. It would make a scraping or howling noise.

Rick - '91 GSX

 

[white90gsx]

With the car in the air turn one rear wheel. If you have an LSD then the other wheel will turn in the same direction. If everything turns freely, and there's no debris in the oil, and the oil level is good then the rear diff is probably good. You could also remove the rear cover and visually inspect the gears for wear or damage.

If you have a vibration at speed it's most likely the u-joints or the carrier not the diff. It would make a scraping or howling noise.

Rick - '91 GSX

Its funny you say that..When it was on the lift I did just that everything moves freely I even held the drive shaft while moving the wheels and the opposite side spins in the opposite direction meaning no LSD. There is not scraping but there is somewhat of a howling noise.Is there any other way to check the u-joints besides shaking them? I'm sure you know more than me about this but how would a faulty carrier bearing or u-joint cause the wheels to want to break loose around turns and also it feels like my front wheels are spinning faster that my rear wheels.When I go over bumps It jerks me around like there spining faster than the rear? Also my steering does feel a little tighter.

 

[Auto RS T]

A bad center diff will cause more stress on the drivetrain resulting in the noise you are hearing from the worn carrier bearings. It can basically cause the car to drive like it has a welded center differential.

A good indicator of a bad u-joint is a visual inspection for rust where the cap slides on. You can take the shaft out and try to rotate it around, if it isn't smooth. The joint is bad. Be careful not to rip the libro joint. (the part that slides in and out on the shaft)

 

[white90gsx]

Yes that how it drives. Like a welded diff.

 

[4pistons]

how would a faulty carrier bearing or u-joint cause the wheels to want to break loose around turns

It wouldn't. I think you're dealing with two separate issues. Bad u-joints or the carrier bearing would cause vibrations and/or clunking. They have nothing to do with steering. A physical check of them is the only way to tell if their worn. If you can twist the driveshaft back and forth, simulating forward and reverse drive, and there is any play at the joint, the u-joints are worn.

and also it feels like my front wheels are spinning faster that my rear wheels

How did you come to that conclusion?? I have no idea what that might even feel like! There is no way that can happen in regular driving.

If what you are feeling is a binding or jerking while doing slow tight turns it indicates your center diff is worn or damaged. Drop your x-fer case and inspect the output shaft splines on the tranny. Does it look like this with worn, shiny splines? That indicates a worn diff. Grab the output shaft and move it in and out. If it moves more than a couple thousands of an inch, the diff is worn or damaged. The ONLY fix is to remove it from the tranny and rebuild/replace/or weld it.

 

[white90gsx]

I'm going to put it on the lift again Monday to feel the u-joints. But then again if its the center diff is worn how will that affect the way the rear wheels move.

 

[white90gsx]

Ok I haven't got a chance to place the car on the lift and I will tomorrow but I spent the past 3 hours reading other peoples problem similar to mine. What I came up with is a lot of people said about checking the fluid to see for any shavings. Now I checked the tc and the rear and found no shavings. So my question is someone was saying a way to test the rear diff by jacking up one rear wheel with the car in neutral without the e brake engaged to see if you can spin the wheel slowly and if you can your diff is fine?
Can anyone confirm this?

 

[white90gsx]

Well I was driving the car a little more today and the more I drive it I think that its coming from the front so I'm going to check it out tomorrow because there is an axle boot that is ripped. Oh and yes my front wheels are spinning faster than the back because when driving today like 15mph I drove over a sewer cover and my front tires chirped.


Note:When I bought this car the previous owner did the 4 bolt swap and he said something about he put a different spline tc in it and he said it was suppose to be stronger.


EDIT-The wheel are not spinning faster that was the spider gears distributing the power between 2 wheels and the front between 1 wheel.

 

[white90gsx]

I put the car on all 4 jack stands today and while the front wheels are spinning I held on side and the other spun so I don't see anything wrong there .I changed the tranny fluid today it was a little gray but nothing out of the ordinary. What would be your next step from here?


Note-I'm not bumping just trying to keep the problem up to date.

 

[white90gsx]

I pulled the transfer case to check the output shaft and the shaft is fine please check my photos for the shaft pic. But wait is the shaft just suppose to pull out?

 

[4pistons]

Good thing is that shaft looks OK. (It's not the clearest photo, tho) As long as the splines are not shiny and worn like in my pic.

Bad thing is that shaft shouldn't come out. The only thing that retains that shaft is a small steel ball that is captured under the Viscous Coupling. If you look at the other end of that shaft there's a rounded groove near the end that goes all the way around the shaft. That's where the ball rides.

If someone took off the VC and didn't reinstall the ball (it looks like a single ball bearing) then the shaft can come out. Have you ever had the VC off or the trans disassembled? Do you know the history of the car? Has the VC or the center diff been replaced before?

Rick -'91 GSX