Hello all first post here.....

I have been having some issues with a whirring noise in the rear end
of my TJ. I assumed that it was the transfer case so I tore that down
and opened it up and found no issues. So upon further inspection I
spun the rear axle shaft and it spun freely with the wheels on the
ground?????

I proceeded to tear off the diff cover and noticed that the bolts have
sheared off the ring gear. There were several bolts laying in the
bottom of the differential case.

So my questions are... why would this happen? Can I just replace the
ring and pinion and that will be the fix. I was not 4 wheeling or
abusing the vehicle, but it does have 120000 miles on it.

Any response will be appreciated.

On Mar 22, 2:09 am, "L.W. \(Bill\) Hughes III" <billhug... (AT) cox (DOT) net>
wrote:
I never use 4wd on dry pavement.... also never had any type of locking
of the rear wheels as one would expect

So you were driving around in four wheel drive, on payment? As you were
shearing the bolts, it never locked and threw you into the windshield? The
front end has got to be close to exploding, too.
God Bless America, Bill 0|||||||0
mailto:LWHughes3rd (AT) aol (DOT) com http://www.billhughes.com/

"jim9731" <Jim9731 (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Bill is right. You wouldn't get from here to there, whirring noise or no,
with the ring gear bolts broken, unless the vehicle were in four wheel
drive.

Your carrier (part that the ring gear bolts to) is likely damaged too.
Replacing the ring and pinion is a job for a professional.

Earle

"jim9731" <Jim9731 (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

On Mar 22, 10:56 am, "Earle Horton" <a... (AT) gracioso (DOT) usa> wrote:

So it looks like there is minimal wear to the ring gear and pinion
gears. Just a few minor nicks but not on the gears themselves, more
on the body of the gear where it would not come in contact with
another gear. Is it possible to just pull the ring gear and easy out
the studs and install new bolts and be good as new? Or is this
something I should leave this to the pros?

"jim9731" <Jim9731 (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

pinion unless you have looked at a lot of them, or when you hear the howls
of protest at road speed. The bolts are hardened and many are left hand
thread. Pay particular attention to the number and position of carrier
bearing shims, and use high strength thread locker on the new bolts. What
you are proposing is "possible" but a replacement open differential carrier
probably wouldn't be expensive enough to justify the effort to drill out the
old bolts.

I don't have much problem swapping in a new carrier, for example to get a
locker or limited slip, but there is some expertise involved and I wouldn't
recommend that an amateur attempt it if there is the possibility of existing
damage.

The major part of the cost to get this done right is in the ring and pinion
set up cost, which is best left to professionals or at least those with the
proper special tools. 4x4 specialty shops? Heh, better go for a ring and
pinion specialist.

Earle

On Mar 22, 2:56 pm, "Earle Horton" <a... (AT) gracioso (DOT) usa> wrote:
Just an update....

I did the repair myself and all went well. Unbelievable that no gears
were broken or chipped with the bolts laying in the diff case.

All is well and I am back on the road again.

I appreciate all the advice.