Weak Front Diff????

[05kAwBoy700]

:thumbdwnarking was scarce at college today so I figured I would park on top of a snow pile.....bad decision! I put it in 4wd and proceded to back onto a mound of snow about 3' high, no big deal, I often park on the snow mounds in the winter time. I parked, went into class, and when I tried to leave, I realized I was indeed stuck. While bieng towed out by a blazer, I realized my front wheels were not spinning. Wierd thing was, there was no noise. No grinding, popping, no sound at all. My rear wheels would spin like I was in 2wd. Not really knowing what was going on I just headed home......now I can hear grinding occaisionally in 2wd. When I parked in my driveway, I soon realized why I didn't have 4wd!

 

[Limited02]

Well at least you can drain the oil easier

Sucks to hear and there really isn't anything stronger

 

[stuartr]

Ouch! Did you hit something with it you think. Or did it bust out while you were parked? That really sucks and looks expensive.


STU

 

[thepotroast]

Considering that there's still fresh oil drops on the diff in that picture, it's pretty safe to assume this just now happened. I'm thinking that the 3 foot high snow hill against the hot diff equaled cracked metal.

I'd start lookin around at some junk yard directories online, find a good low mileage differential with the correct gear ratio that you have now, and swap them out.

Sorry to see that man, first time I've seen a split diff on a 3rd gen

 

[05kAwBoy700]

The only thing I can think of is the front tires were on dry pavement and the rear were in the snow, but seems the t-case would have gone before the diff.....oh well, I know what I'll be doing this weekend lol.

 

[dogfriend]

Any chance there was a big rock in the middle of that snow pile? Cool pics. I never saw the inside of the front diff before.

 

[macknos94]

what gears do you have i'm selling a 3.73 front dif good luck finding a dif. if you have any trouble finding one there are a few 3.55 explorers in the junk yard by me. keep us updated on getting it fixed.

 

[rhauf]

my guess is, the spider gears in the diff came apart, fell out of the carrier, and when the bound up between the ring gear and the bottom of the case it punched through..

i've had this happen before on a dana-44.

 

[z28forlife]

That really sucks man, hope you find another one at a good price.

 

[05kAwBoy700]

macknos94 you have a pm, thanks. I found a couple at the local salvage yards ranging from $250 to $350, honestly I was expecting much higher. Should be back together this weekend, if all goes as planned. Sucks, I hate being at work when the ride is broken at home....