If I were a betting man...

[ravingmadman]

Sweet. Check this shizzle out. metallic banging sound coming from the front end. Replaced the half shaft/cv joints and posted a how-to. Awful sound didn't go away. Took it to the diff shop, and they say front gears 3.42, rear gears 3.73. Yay!!!

When I test drove it, there was no problem, and all the driveline, etc., was in place. I'm wondering if there's any way Todd from burien could have easily hid this, without removing the front driveline? I did check for this when I drove it, and now I feel retarded...

The shop also said that both the front and rear diffs are worn out, lots of metal in the oil.

I intend to swap the rear end out for one off a junker that has a 3.42. Anyone know what years will work for swapping a rear end in a '99 4wd?

 

[96ProCompTahoe]

******* Aye man, i thought i was dumping a ton of money into mine.

if i didn't already have someone buying the gears outa mine i would give them to you for what it would cost for shipping... they are 3.73's good and clean even with the milage... they are worn out from them being different, but if the rear is still good enough you could just drop the front shaft and be on your way.

Mine always decides to drain my bank account at the worst times. Like... a few weeks ago when i had to completely replace all the shit in the gas tank, right after that new Radiator and Hoses.

You need to Find that guy and kick his ass!


even the people i have work on mine work against me. 4 Wheel Parts everytime... have to go have my rocker fixed AGAIN since the last guy ****** it all up so now its 5x as bad, same with the rear bumper...

 

[Bad bow tie]

A axle ranging from 1988-1998 will be compatable as long as it's 4wd. You may want to look into a 14 bolt semi float as they are much stronger than the garbage 10 bolt that it has now. It will hold up better to the bigger tires you are spinning. It is a dirrect swap in (again, 4wd only) requiring only a new u-joint. The only problem is they are somewhat rare to come across, and when you do, the asking price is rediculous. I think that 3.42 gears would be to small. Wouldn't you want to go with something lower than at least 4.10? 4.56 would work well. I got 3.42 in mine and it's a dog on the freeway going 72 mph. And I only have 285's. You're running 35's. I wish I had 4.10's.

That's ****** up that someone changed the gears in only one differential on the truck and never told you that the the other one dosen't match. It probably shredded as soon as you engaged the 4wd.

 

[ravingmadman]

Yeah, they guys at the diff shop (dad called them a "pumpkin patch" once, rofl) also said I'd be happier going steeper on the gears, but right now I don't have the cash to rebuild one pumpkin, much less both.

I'm probably going to put the front driveline in storage for the time being, and start scavenging on craigslist for proper parts. 3.73 is fine- a majority of the miles we put on the rig are highway miles, driving from Seattle to Portland. But I do want the 4wd to work, as this is my wife's truck and I don't want her stuck somewhere. I have my '77 Blazer "man truck" as well. I need to add that into my signature.

Holy poop guys. This truck has really become a nightmare. Thanks for all the help.

 

[dirtbikerdude2005]

Half of what you've spent is on rims & tires

 

[1999hoe]

I don't know what I'll do if someone does guess correctly. I might have to drop ship beer or something. I don't think it is possible, but I'll figure something out. Up the stakes, you know. And I should require a part/time range, too. Like, "The tranny will blow up within 2 months." Or, "The wheels will fall off on the freeway tomorrow."

thats creepy

 

[ravingmadman]

OMG, that's not funny.

 

[tybardy]

the love is whats killing it!

My grandma is 79 years old and has smoked cigs since she was a girl... the doctor told her if she quits it will likely kill her!

Same story, that truck was probably so used to being beat on, as soon as you started treating it good, the ******* thing didnt know what to do....

anyways, i cant decide on AC or tranny

 

[ravingmadman]

AC compressor pump has been leaking for a while. I don't think luxuries should count. lol. I have to update the original list with the new front diff. Also, we pulled the inspection plate off the rear diff, and there's more metal shavings than oil in it. Might be time to learn how to rebuild a diff....

 

[tybardy]

oh i just saw you were in seattle... i guess AC is a luxury there... here in phoenix it's as important as GAS!!! hahahaha

 

[ravingmadman]

Hey all. Just getting home, 100 feet from the driveway, when bang, crunch, crunch, crunch, screech. Rear end spider gears just ate themselves. I just drained/filled the diff today, and saw the carnage in the poor thing, but thought I had at least a week (and another paycheck) to get a new (used) rear end together. The rear end decided to turn again after abruptly stopping, so I got it off the road, and then got it home using the brand new front differential in 4wd!!! Yay!!!!

I actually had the differential open today for it's first time, and saw how bad it was. The ring gear looks great, so I'm assuming the pinion gear is good too. No major wear, surprisingly.

Can I just unbolt the differential from the carrier, unbolt the ring gear, and replace the gov-lock unit with a real posi, without having to redo the backspacing?

Redoing the backspacing gives me the creeps, and I've never taken a differential apart before, so i'm really not in the mood to butcher my wife's rig with my first dabblings. I'm now destitute, too, so this needs to be on a budget.

Opinions, please?

Edit: Looking at it in the light, one of the spider gears actually went through the cover, and shot down the road. So I'm looking for a new rear end. Thanks for playing!!!

 

[ravingmadman]

Got the new rear end in last night, late. Went for a really, really ginger drive and checked everything, seems to be doing well now. Checked the fwd, and it now works great too. I took a video of the guts of my rear diff, and detailed the common failure we all have with the gov-lock diff. I need to put it up, but I'm not sure where to put it? Should I just throw it on youtube?

 

[Cdnguy]

ouch. thats all i can say.

 

[96ProCompTahoe]

not something you want to see after a huge BANG....

 

[Davyboy]

I think after reading this, I'm going to go pat my kon on the back in the morning...

 

[ravingmadman]

Funny this thread should come up again. I just lost the sway bar linkage. Lol. Easy cheap fix. Recommend getting the $30 Moog parts. Really improves on the stock setup.

 

[ravingmadman]

Dear diary,
I just spent ~$600 chasing down an electrical fault in the speed sensor wiring, that was causing my speedometer to be all over the place, and causing my truck to shift into odd gears whenever it felt like it. We replaced the speed sensor, but that didn't do it. It was a fault at one of the wiring harnesses. When we unplugged, and plugged the harness, we lost the speedo altogether, so we respliced everything, and seem to have fixed it. The transfer case is getting worse, and I'll need to replace it soon.

I also added a new no-name deck, amp, and a pair of 12" subs from O'Reilly, and it hits really hard. Starting to enjoy driving the truck. I also added smoked headlights and turn signals, cut the old, broken fog lights out of the bumper, and added some cheap, bright yellow ones with a switch overhead. Starting to get the hang of this. I also owe the guys at the shop beer, because it's been over a month since my last major breakdown. Finally made it a month...

 

[branndon_b]

you poor bastard. that's all i can say. get another running total like you had at the start of this thread so we can all pity you in all your glory. that totally sucks man. most people would've just done something dirty like sell it to someone else (which may have been what the p.o. did to you) or go pawn it off on a car lot towards trade. hats off to you to keep fixing the beast. probably got more patience than i have with all that, but i guess you win in experience points, you'll know every nut and bolt on it. i don't know that my love for my yukon runs deep enough to keep wrenching on it like you have if everything that you've had go wrong went wrong with mine. but i guess there has to be a light at the end of the tunnel eventually huh? can't be much left to break on it man, by the time you're done you'll have a new truck. keep wrenching man. branndon.

 

[IRQVET]

Maybe the $1,600 you spent on those slick wheels & tires could have been better spent on getting a mechanic to go through the truck BEFORE you purchased it.

Most older Tahoe's seem to be money pits, some more than others, which is weird because I drove a 1998 GMC half ton for well over 120K without doing a thing but regular oil changes.

Some things are funny like that. Maybe Tahoe production was slotted for production only after 4pm on Friday's or early on Monday morning after a holiday weekend, lol.

 

[destroyer1362]

Most older Tahoe's seem to be money pits, some more than others,

Couldn't agree more.. I thought mine being 71k and one owner meant little to no repairs.. Nope.. I have spent over a grand and still have a list of repairs to do.