'93 L300 whirring sound in rear axle

[philmeup1]

So I just posted some good news about fixing my cold start problem thanks to some great help on here. Now I'm wondering about a possible issue with my rear axle. I've noticed a sort of whining sound when driving on the highway. Its only when my foot is on the accelerator and when I'm driving at highway speeds.

Maybe it's always been like this and I've just not paid attention to it but I've learned the hard way in the past that preventative maintenance is always best. I had my mechanic check the diff and it was topped up. He thought the fluid could use changing though. Same with my transmission fluid as well.

Is this a case of me worrying bout nothing. Or maybe something worse?? Thanks for any input.

Cheers, Phil

[vstrom]

I had the same thing happen to me a few years ago. When I drained its oil the magnet on the drain bolt had a big clump of ferrous material on it and the oil was the colour of mud. I figure water got in there and started to wreck havoc.. it was just chewing it self up. It ended up getting very loud at highway speed. I eventually managed to replace the whole thing.

First thing to do is drain the oil and try some new stuff.

[philmeup1]

Thanks vstrom. Do you have a recommendation as far as to what fluid to put in there??
Cheers

[vstrom]

If I remember right .. Initially I tried motomaster 75w90. That quieted it down for a few days then it started to make noise again. I tried adding a recommended addictive (I can't remember what it was.. I'll see if I still have the bottle) from napa.. But that didnt help. I was looking at ripping the whole thing apart and rebuild it when I got a decent deal for a 'new' one. So I just swapped it out.

Make sure it really is your rear diff.. Have someone go back there while you drive and try to pinpoint the sound. You never know if it's your tranny or diff or even a universal joint. I knew it was my rear diff for sure after I changed its oil and everything got quiet.. For a day or two anyway.

[philmeup1]

Thanks for the info. I only have 94,000kms on the van now so I think anything major failing would be premature at this point. But there again, what constitutes something wearing prematurely, is a subjective thing. It's an old van with little Kms on it. I'm firstly going to change the tranny & diff fluids and see if things quiet down some. Failing that, I'll be looking for other things.

I've been quite lucky with the repairs and maintenance on it so far. You hear of the heads going on these engines and other big stuff and I feel pretty lucky that I have dodged those bulletts. I Let my van warm up slowly, even in the summer. I take the advice I get on here. And I try to be preventative on all the maintenance.

Thanks for sharing your experience with me. I'm hoping this won't be a major repair in the making......

Cheers, Phil

[FalcoColumbarius]

Hiya Phil,
Just wanted to follow up on your rear axle seven months on. How are things going? I appear to have developed a leak by my right drum. At first I thought it could be the brake cylinder until I noticed the leak on the backing plate, behind the drum.

Falco.

[philmeup1]

Hey Falco,

Since that post I had a friend who teaches automotive mechanics at my school flush both the transmission & diff fluids. He told me that the diff fluid was dirty, but not overly. The magnetic drain plug was typical from what he's seen in the past. Same goes with the transmission fluid. I think it's a bit better now.

You take your chances getting stuff repaired at a high school auto shop. My buddy's great but the students are learning as they go. I realized when my transmission was slipping after the work was done, they didn't put near enough tranny fluid back in. I took care of that right away and all is good. I hope they filled the diff right up.......

So what's the deal with yours? Have you determined where the leaks coming from. Hopefully it's nothing too serious.

[FalcoColumbarius]

One of my mechanic friends, whom usually works on Audis, VWs, RRs, took a look at an exploded parts illustration I showed him and told me what I had to do. He assured me that as a mechanic, it's a very easy job to do, as a novice DIY mechanic I should be able to execute it in a day and gave me a couple of tips to follow. In the meantime I top up the diff with LSD fluid periodically, the leak is very small. There are four seals I need to replace, I want to get my ducks in a row before I take it on, having not done this before. Also, there is life that is constantly happening to me while I'm "busy making other plans", as it were. I'm wondering why this has happened as it's very rare. I'm thinking that maybe I landed on a rock at one point that jarred something?

Falco.

[TieMyShoe]

nah, wheel seal leaks are not rare. We have done about 5 of them in the last two weeks at the shop. Seals are a wear and tear item and will begin to leak after time. It's not a hard job.. it's just not a fun on either.If you wait to long though you will also have to replace the brake shoes even if there is lots of life left on them. If they are not contaminated you can re-install them (granted.. if you already in there...)

[FalcoColumbarius]

nah, wheel seal leaks are not rare. We have done about 5 of them in the last two weeks at the shop. Seals are a wear and tear item and will begin to leak after time. It's not a hard job.. it's just not a fun on either.If you wait to long though you will also have to replace the brake shoes even if there is lots of life left on them. If they are not contaminated you can re-install them (granted.. if you already in there...)

Cool, I've just rarely heard about them on Delicas, I guess. Perhaps it's never noticed, ergo not reported. Regarding the shoes ~ they're on the agenda, as well. I recently had my brake pads done in November past. I was told by the mechanic that they were a special set and would squeal a little to start but not to worry as the squealing would go away with time. Now the brakes are getting a little spongy and when I had the wheels off to rotate them the pads looked a little low profile. Either way, I'm going to replace them as the squealing is getting on my nerves. Currently, my E brake works fine. I stop on a hill and put it on and the wagon doesn't budge. Having said that, in the seven years I've had the MLB I've never done the shoes so maybe it's time to change them out anyway.

Falco.

[punkrawker]

hey falco, oil on rear drum is 99.99% of the time a rear pinion seal, easy to fix and usually a $20 part but if the retaining nut is anything like my tundra (480ft/lbs) your gonna need alot of muscle or a quick trip to a shop to crack the retaining nut. about $200 ballpark for shop to do it

[TieMyShoe]

I have not taken a deli rear end apart yet however many imports use a crush sleeve. if you crush it more when you reinstall the retaining nut you can destroy your ring and pinion.. may be best to look into that before trying to swap the pinion seal. Also Pinion seal should get oil on the floor pan and drip on the ground.. never heard of it getting inside a drum?

as for the squeaking, keep in mind shoes are thin to start with, <2mm is when you should be looking at replacing. If they are squeaking try sand down the surface and add a chamfer to the edges. Often this will fix the squeak

[FalcoColumbarius]

Just an update: Dropped over to TLGF's for a chat and we started tinkering. During our poking around Wayne noticed that one of the four screws at the end of the axle, where it butts up to the backing plate, where the leak is, was loose. He tightened it up, I'm going to be monitoring it on my numerous trips up the 99 to see if this is actually the culprit. Didn't occur to me to check these ~ one lives and learns.

Thanks Wayne, you rock!

Falco.