User 4221

Well, I may have pulled a good one.....

I removed the axle flanges per the Bentley (one at a time) to do the seals.

I re-installed the axle flanges and tested them by turning and watching them spin opposite each other and felt a mild "pop" in the diff while turning.

I then tested by turning the input shaft. After a few degrees of rotation, I heard a loud "clang" and it stopped turning. I turned the other direction and it would make one complete revolution and "clang" then stop again.

I pulled the flanges again and inspected the flange end and diff end. I found tool markings on each side that appeared to be alignment marks. I aligned the flanges with diff marks and now it spins without interruption. However, I can feel the mild "pop" while spinning either freely or through the input shaft.... This does surface with the flanges spinning freely or locked while spinning the input shaft

The Bentley manual mentions doing the flanges "one at a time to avoid difficulties aligning the drive flange splines".

Is the problem I'm seeing a drive spline alignment issue? If so, how does one align the splines so it spins freely?

Thanks in advance.

PS: The trans in on the bench so it is easy to work on.

User 4221

Hmmm....

User 4221

The problem is not in the differential. It spins quietly.

The soft "clunk" or notchiness is coming from the input shaft.

Problem description: When I spin the input shaft by hand in neutral, there is no clunk...... When I spin the input shaft by hand with the trans in gear (any gear), I get a "clunk" and a solid notchy feedback with frequency consistent with the gear. For instance, if the trans is in 4th gear, the clunk appears approx. once per revolution on the input shaft.
I can spin the output shafts and get the same "clunk" and notch.

This doesn't seem normal but I would like some expert opinions.... Thoughts?

Ed Hughes

I agree, it doesn't sound normal. I've never gotten into my box, so I don't know what to offer up. Did you spin on the bench before you removed the flanges? If not, do you think the issue may've been present then? Or is it for sure a result of the flanges going back in wrong?

User 4221

Good questions. I didn't test before popping off the flanges so I'm not sure if it was present or not.

I'm not sure if the flanges and input shaft clunking are related....

Ed Hughes

Well Scott, you've got some good shops in DFW....maybe haul it over to one for an informed opinion on possible cause?

User 4221

Thanks, Ed. That's the plan. I will call Zims and Mayo tomorrow to get their thoughts.

The Race Line

Do you get the clunk when you rotate the differential without rotating the mainshaft? If so you might want to pull the side plate off and inspect the spyder gears for wear. If not then it is most likely internal to the gearbox and you will want to have it inspected.

Good luck and make sure you get it taken care of obviously. If there is something holding up the rotation and you don't get it resolved, it is only going to end up being far more expensive.

Let me know if I can help,

Erik Johnson
(303) 895-4828

User 4221

Thanks, Erik. It is being inspected right now.

The sound was coming from the gear box as it was present with either input shaft rotation or axle flange rotation.

I will post back with findings. Hopefully it won't be too painful on the pocketbook.

Tango635

Why don't you give Matt Monson a call, he seems to be very helpful and is top-notch from what I have read on the different P-car forums. Plus he is a sponsor of this site or Pelican or both, I don't recall.

Matt Monson
Guard Transmission LLC
303-530-1094
gtgears@yahoo.com

I find it highly unlikely your problem is in the transmission. I would venture it has to be in the diff since you just "touched" it. You haven't run it so the fix should be fairly simple, relatively speaking of course.

User 4221

That is what I was thinking, Differential, as the clunking would change with gear position.
For instance. in 4th, it would clunk about every 360 degrees. But in first, it would clunk every several rotations.

I don't know what can get "damaged" by removing the axle flanges but I will soon find out.

The trans is with a shop that I trust and I have known the wrench for 10 years. I won't get any stories.

My biggest fear is that a needle bearing (or something similar) fell into the diff which means a needle bearing issue in the gearbox.

Thanks for the referral to Matt. I was thinking about him this weekend when panic was setting in.

Tango635

You're welcome

User 4221

I spoke to him and he is an awesome guy with a wealth of knowledge.

He set me straight on a few key facts regarding the G50..... Basically talking me off the ledge.

Tango635

Scott,

So what happened on your G50? What did Matt recommend?

Where are you in Texas? There is a new guy coming to the Houston Area. His name is William Knight of Knight Race Inc. I talked to him about doing some checks on my engine (should I decide to take it apart) and he is very knowledgeable and sounds reasonable on price. I say he's new, but only new to the Houston area. If you need something for your engine, I would recommend talking to him. He is buying out Protec apparently.

Alfonso

GTgears

For starters, thanks for the kind words guys.

What I recommended was pulling the side cover and taking the differential out, and seeing if the problem is still present. Taking into account some further details that Scott provided, I suspect he's actually got a pinion bearing issue, that was present prior to removing the flanges.