Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Drivetrain woes

I think one of my CV joints stripped out, but I'm not sure. Was driving to the local Ryan's Steakhouse, made a turn and felt a pop, car seemed okay, but kinda subtly bucked every now and then, almost like potholes, but not. Then when we got to the steakhouse, as I made the turn in, it popped and shaked very violently.. when I pushed the clutch in, the harshness stopped. I drove around the parking lot a little to try and assess the problem. Driving straight was okay, although every now and then, it would violently bang. Turning it would violently bang as well. During the banging, the engine would buck revs too. I parked the car, and proceeded to have All You can Eat Steak. I came back out, and tried to limp the car home. But the first stoplight, was also the last one. Started to let the clutch out and just got violent grinding. It would kind of grab, but then start to grind again. I **THINK** it's a CV Spline, or maybe tranny mount, bellhousing, or (God Help me) Differential. Any suggestions would be VERY welcome. As tomorrow I'll be tearing it down and trying to find the problem..

Thanks in Advance
-Chris

anyone??

I went out and jacked it up, and spun the wheel, and a very audible grinding/rubbing kind of sound can be heard from the differential housing. So I guess that means a blown diff. right?

-Chris

only if the sound came from the tranny. did you look at the axles? If one is spun/broken there is usually a broken boot to spot.


Did you have popping noises when turning before this happened?

The boots on both drive-axles were okay. It started popping during turns about an hour before it went out compeletly

Thanks,
-Chris

YAAAY

finnaly im not alone

the exact same thing happened to me 2 days ago, i drove the car to the shop after babying it for the last 2 days (clutching around corners) when i got to shop it finally died,

just grinding and spinning, wouldent move so i left it at shop and am hoping that it is just a new cv joint (130$) and not a diff
im in the same boat as you friction

only mine started popping around corners after i did a huge burnout at a redlight (beside a 5.0) so im guessing that did it in

Well, I did some more testing. I jacked up the pass. side wheel, cranked it up and put it in first. The wheel turned and there was a slightly audible clicking coming from the center of the car.
I then jacked up the drivers side too, leaving both wheel suspended. Put the car in gear and the wheels didn't turn at all, however I could spin the pass. side wheel and it would be powered for a little bit but slowly come back to a halt. The drivers side wheel had no such luck.
I then lowered the pass. side and left the drivers side up. put the car in gear and it didn't turn. If I tried to give it a little spin start, it woudl catch for a little bit, and spin but with very loud grinding/clicking.

So I'm guessing the problem lies between the differential and the Axle. The whole axle spins fine up to the housing. Which is more inclined to break? The splines on the axle or an output shaft on the differential?
Anyone have any thoughts?

thanks
-Chris


P.S. Kristo: I'm glad that you're happy and all, but it really sucks for me because I'm going to have to be very miserly over the summer to pay this off and because I never treat my car like you do yours. It's never seen any big burn outs, any super hard drag races, nothing super intense...

I know the old phrase "Misery loves company" might be in order for you right now, but I have to agree with Chris here. Cheering because someone is experiencing the same problem is not exactly the thing to do. It would be like cheering when somebody's dog dies....

Sounds like you need to buy a quaiffe

I'd say your diff is gone

Is replacing the Diff. a task I should try at home? or should I pay Aamco my left arm to do it? I wish I had the money for a Quaife, but I'm prolly gonna have to settle for a used one. (If I can even get a used one) Is there any other way I can tell? Probably just gonna have to tear it down and look or tow my junk to Aamco

-Chris