What did you do to your GMT today?

[Shdwdrgn]

Steve does like to joke, he had the guys on trailvoy believing that he was going to run 42's on his TB....
oh wait, he said he was going to do it and he did....
http://forums.trailvoy.com/showthread.php?t=86552
It is fun to go back and read threads like that again for a laugh!

Oh god, I'd never seen that thread before, that was awesome!

[chevycrew]

I really listed mine for sale on facebook. I'm not sure what I want to do, kinda joking, kinda serious,

If someone showed up on my doorstep with a check for 12k, they can have it.

[Shdwdrgn]

I think I finally figured out the mounting points for the caps on the new light bar I'm building. One of those things, I was going about it all wrong, where a simple solution is also more solid. I have a lot of PVC split in half, wish there was an easy way to get the splits squared up, but the best I can come up with there is just using a hand belt sander and a straightedge. Once I have my caps in place, then its just a matter of cutting slots for the lights to shine through. I think the only thing questionable about this project is whether my radar detector will still work after I rewire the display to a long cable.

[chevycrew]

I can see a table saw helpful for splitting pvc.

[Trail X]

I finally put in my front diff (it didn't explode this time), and tightened up my exhaust bolts... I need to figure out some way of keeping them from loosening up next time, because I'm pretty sure they will loosen again.

[Moots1288]

The manifold bolts??

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[Trail X]

Yeah, I used replacement Dorman bolts, no patch lock on them. Not sure if I necessarily want patch though, because I don't want to go through what I did before with a broken bolt.

Was thinking of a lock washer of some sort, or maybe a Belleville washer set.

[Wahugg]

I finally put in my front diff (it didn't explode this time)....

Out of curiosity James, how long did your front diff live without any fluid before it ate itself? When it did, where you doing anything in particular such as loading up the 4x4 system?

-Wallace

[Moots1288]

That seems like an odd question. Are you looking to run with no fluid?

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[Moots1288]

Yeah, I used replacement Dorman bolts, no patch lock on them. Not sure if I necessarily want patch though, because I don't want to go through what I did before with a broken bolt.

Was thinking of a lock washer of some sort, or maybe a Belleville washer set.

I'd say go with the lock washer. That should help them from loosening up. Is there enough thread on the bolt for a lock washer though?

[Wahugg]

That seems like an odd question. Are you looking to run with no fluid?

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Reason I ask is that way back when I got my trailblazer and I was nieve I never checked the front diff fluid. When I stumbled upon trailvoy and found out to check the front diff I did and it was bone dry. I can not be sure how long it was but I imagine it had to been a while since it was so dry. I filled it up and haven't had much issue with for the next 70,000 miles I've put on it.

I assume James didn't put nearly this amount of mileage on his but I am still curious as to how long it took for his to fail and under what circumstances it did fail. I suspect mine would not have failed as quickly due to my disconnect and him running an AWD sleeve but my curiosity still persists.

-Wahugg

[Trail X]

Yeah, I used replacement Dorman bolts, no patch lock on them. Not sure if I necessarily want patch though, because I don't want to go through what I did before with a broken bolt.

Was thinking of a lock washer of some sort, or maybe a Belleville washer set.

I'd say go with the lock washer. That should help them from loosening up. Is there enough thread on the bolt for a lock washer though?

I think there's plenty of thread left. It's got at least a good inch of bite into the head.

That seems like an odd question. Are you looking to run with no fluid?

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

Reason I ask is that way back when I got my trailblazer and I was nieve I never checked the front diff fluid. When I stumbled upon trailvoy and found out to check the front diff I did and it was bone dry. I can not be sure how long it was but I imagine it had to been a while since it was so dry. I filled it up and haven't had much issue with for the next 70,000 miles I've put on it.

I assume James didn't put nearly this amount of mileage on his but I am still curious as to how long it took for his to fail and under what circumstances it did fail. I suspect mine would not have failed as quickly due to my disconnect and him running an AWD sleeve but my curiosity still persists.

-Wahugg

Mine lasted about 2 miles.

But keep in mind, mine was drier than simply draining oil out. I had thoroughly degreased all of the parts in a parts washer. I'm interested in doing a postmortem on it. From what I have seen so far (without opening the case), it was quite catastrophic. Of course, some of the damage was caused when I limped the two miles back home with the diff/blender making terrible noises. From what I can tell so far, the pinion just seized.

[Wahugg]

2 miles?!

That surprises me! I imagine a bearing would last longer than two miles without oil, but then again as you said this was a fresh install with no residual oil and you do have an AWD sleeve so all your internals were moving. In my scenerio, I was probably just spinning the spider gears and maybe the intermediate shaft due to my lack of an AWD sleeve.

I'm sorry to hear this happened to you James but it does make for an interesting mistake none the less.

-Wallace

[Moots1288]

2 miles?!

That surprises me! I imagine a bearing would last longer than two miles without oil, but then again as you said this was a fresh install with no residual oil and you do have an AWD sleeve so all your internals were moving. In my scenerio, I was probably just spinning the spider gears and maybe the intermediate shaft due to my lack of an AWD sleeve.

I'm sorry to hear this happened to you James but it does make for an interesting mistake none the less.

-Wallace

The pinion seized, not a bearing

[ErikSS]

The pinion bearing siezed.... So he thinks....
James, is there a way to be more sure what happened in there? I'm also surprised how fast it broke without fluid.

[Trail X]

Yeah, I'm amazed it only lasted two miles too.

All I really know at this point is that the pinion will not spin at all, and the ring gear now seems to be toothless.

I plan to open it all up and take some pictures and try to figure out what failed first.

[dvanbramer88]

James, the lock washers on my manifold bolts are working well. I'm around 1500 miles since the install and everything seems good to go.

[Wahugg]

The pinion seized, not a bearing

The pinion is just a piece of metal that rides on a bearing, allowing it to spin. I understand that it stopped spinning but you would think that for anything to go wrong then a bearing had to have gone. The pinion bearing could have seized preventing the pinion from turning or perhaps one of the main bearings for the carrier went causing the whole carrier to get misaligned allowing the teeth from the ring gear and pinion to act like a grinder.

Sorry to have hijacked this thread so much but the matter really interests me. I'm looking forward to when you have time to figure out what happened James.

-Wallace

[Moots1288]

The pinion seized, not a bearing

The pinion is just a piece of metal that rides on a bearing, allowing it to spin. I understand that it stopped spinning but you would think that for anything to go wrong then a bearing had to have gone. The pinion bearing could have seized preventing the pinion from turning or perhaps one of the main bearings for the carrier went causing the whole carrier to get misaligned allowing the teeth from the ring gear and pinion to act like a grinder.

Sorry to have hijacked this thread so much but the matter really interests me. I'm looking forward to when you have time to figure out what happened James.

-Wallace

Hmm is that what a pinion is.

Thanks

[Trail X]

James, the lock washers on my manifold bolts are working well. I'm around 1500 miles since the install and everything seems good to go.

What kind of lock washers did you use?

The pinion seized, not a bearing

The pinion is just a piece of metal that rides on a bearing, allowing it to spin. I understand that it stopped spinning but you would think that for anything to go wrong then a bearing had to have gone. The pinion bearing could have seized preventing the pinion from turning or perhaps one of the main bearings for the carrier went causing the whole carrier to get misaligned allowing the teeth from the ring gear and pinion to act like a grinder.

Sorry to have hijacked this thread so much but the matter really interests me. I'm looking forward to when you have time to figure out what happened James.

-Wallace

Considering how touchy the pinion nut is (you get it a bit too tight, and the rotational torque of the pinion skyrockets), I'm guessing it had something to do with thermal expansion. Aluminum (the housing) expands at a rate nearly twice that of steel (the pinion). So assuming that the diff created a ton of heat, the bearing preload could have shot through the roof due to the thermal expansion of the aluminum, which effectively prevented spin of the pinion.

I won't speculate any further until I dig into it.