Need your input on rear diff bang . I did search forums. Need help

[speedfreak99]

Hi guys I did a burnout and heard a bang from the rear end. Put car on ramps removed bottom driveline cover and had a buddy let clutch out slow to see where the loud driveline bang is now coming from . Checked all mounts and ujoints . As clutch is let out and engine torque builds up with the brakes on , the driveshaft does a spin at the diff with a loud bang at the end of its single rotation without the rear wheels moving an inch ? The car still drove me home and shifted normal minus the horrible bang each time starting from a stop. Any thoughts ? Thanks in advance. I did search the forums but none matched my exact details.

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

You could have one half shaft broken, either way you will have to pull the shafts even to take the diff out and inspect. It could also be the diff itself let go, Gen3 cars were not as strong as the newer Gen4 diffs.

 

[Canyon707]

when I broke a half shafe it went nowhere.

 

[StyVip]

sounds to me like the pinion is messed up. But when the pinion goes it will bang the whole time when getting on the accelerator. When driving if you coast and get back on the gas does it bang again?

 

[Tail lights]

Sounds like a broken spider gear. Have you been wheel hopping your car? I wouldn't drive it, The rear end may lock up.

 

[Viper X]

Gen III car with hard launch = broken diff.

Replace it with a Gen IV diff or other aftermarket diff. There are some pretty good choices now that were not available a few years ago.

VPA or Parts Rack are good sources for parts.

Dan

 

[speedfreak99]

It bangs hard starting out and when letting off accelerator. Yes i do get wheel hop sometimes when i drop the clutch..Ok maybe not half shafts then good to know thx. The car is going into dealership on friday. Thanks guys for the responses i will post the problem when i find out as much as i can from the dealership. Dan thanks for the suggestion , I will look into my options . Does the Gen IV diff need a different carrier or just install in my Gen III carrier ?

 

[Dan Cragin]

Sounds like a broken spider gear, if you have a 03 this is common. A Wavetrac posi is the hot ticket right now. If you are on a budget there are plenty of used posi's out there. I am sure VPA has them.

 

[speedfreak99]

Thx Dan im looking into the wavetrac .

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

We have done a couple Wavetracs and they are awesome pieces, very high quality build and it will pop in no problem.

 

[Viper X]

If you are a street guy, the Wavetrack should be OK.

If you are a track guy, the initial feedback from our members is not good so far.

Dan

 

[ACRucrazy]

Did I not read Quaife is an option?

 

[viper04]

Any updates

 

[Canyon707]

Well the Dana 44 is a pretty strong gear and has held up well, but this is a weak link in the drive train no matter. There are a few aftermarket diffs but all can break if beaten up enough times. I run an OS

Giken which seems to be pretty strong, but not completely bullet proof to the damage wheel hoping can do. If you really want to get the best I would look into what Mark Williams has to offer and then look into some better shocks that keep the rearend from hoping on you Eric Mesely in Orange County has suspensions to fit your needs.

 

[speedfreak99]

Update : i just do street driving. I ordered the wavetrac and all new parts including 3.55 gears. Didnt bring viper into shop till my parts arrive. Is it possible for me to attempt removing the entire diff housing and bringing it to a shop to install all new guts and for me to bolt up again ? I realize half shafts will need to be removed from housing . Has anyone on her done that ? I do have the service manual. I will search the forums tonight . Thx again for all the input you guys are awesome

 

[TowDawg]

As long as the halfshafts aren't too stuck to the diff, it's not a very bad job. Unfortunately, you won't know until you get to that point. If you have a lift at home, it should be easy. If you don't have a lift and your halfshafts are pretty stuck, it might be really tough to get them off from laying under the car.

 

[Viper X]

As long as the halfshafts aren't too stuck to the diff, it's not a very bad job. Unfortunately, you won't know until you get to that point. If you have a lift at home, it should be easy. If you don't have a lift and your halfshafts are pretty stuck, it might be really tough to get them off from laying under the car.

As above. It seems like most of the Gen IV's and a few of the Gen III's half shafts are hard to remove from the diff. If you can get the half shafts out, you should be good to go.

Dan

 

[speedfreak99]

UPDATE :

Removed rear diff . Took it in to shop to install new wavetrac. The spider gear inside the oem hydra-loc were broken and chewed right up. Halfshafts and U-Joints appear ok.

 

[Hamrhead]

I've got a Stock GenIV Diff for sale out of my '08 w/ <500 miles - Which I traded in a month ago. No issues/As new.

It was removed because I purchased a complete diff w/ 3.55's from Unitrax.

 

[steve911]

I've got a Stock GenIV Diff for sale out of my '08 w/ <500 miles - Which I traded in a month ago. No issues/As new.

It was removed because I purchased a complete diff w/ 3.55's from Unitrax.

You have a PM and an email....

Steve A.

 

[Viper X]

UPDATE :

Removed rear diff . Took it in to shop to install new wavetrac. The spider gear inside the oem hydra-loc were broken and chewed right up. Halfshafts and U-Joints appear ok.

We've seen a bunch of Hydro-loc failures. Good idea to replace it. I'd go with the OE Gen IV Visco-lok unit given the choice.

Good luck,

Dan

 

[Hirkophoto]

I had problems with my diff, I was lucky and it did not fail while driving. Here is a thread I started about it.
http://socalviper.com/forum/index.php?topic=1522.0