Hello all!

I am currently having a problem with my 2002 Suburban and I have several questions. This Suburban has the 8.1 L engine and is a K2500. I am experiencing a serious vibration when I go down the highway. It is not as noticeable during city driving. Today I jacked up the rear end to see if the U-joints where a problem but the drive shaft looked to be spinning true. However I did hear a nasty clang from the rear end. Like it was skipping a tooth once every revolution of the ring gear. The questions I have are as follows:

- What rear end is in this Suburban? There are 14 bolts on the cover and I ordered the truck new so I know it has 3.73 gear ratio.

- What could be wrong with the rear end?

- How difficult are these to rebuild? I have rebuilt engines and manual transmissions with success but have never tackled a differential rebuild before. And how do I know if it is not rebuildable?

- If it is rebuildable, who makes a good master rebuild kit?

- Is there anything else I should know about this problem before proceeding?

Thanks to all for the help!

John

 

Any mechanics out there that could help answer these questions?

Thank you

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10.5%2...t_Differential


Lots of things that can be an issue.


Removing the rear cover is simple and you should be able to diagnose the issue. It may be compounded if it has a Gov lock in it, or positrac.


I think likely you have a carrier bearing that is trashed.


Any leaks?


But again the only way you can diagnose is to remove the rear cover.


Difficulty factor is based on your tools you have available. its a simple operation but you will need specialized tools AND experience. not setting them correctly will be costly, noisy and you will likely launch a few wrenches into the drywall.


Two things I never touch, transmission rebuilds and setting up rear axles. I will and have done everything else. I have learned that transmissions and rebuilding rear ends are off my to do list. I have done each once and will never ever do it again.

 

Thank you for the reply. I read the Wikipedia link you sent and now I am a little confused. The parts house is telling me that this Suburban should have either a 9.5" or 11.5" gear and the link you sent says it has a 10.5" gear.

Yes I am leaning towards a bad carrier bearing as well and yes I was planning to remove the cover this weekend, but what am I looking for once I get the cover off?

Oh and no there are no leaks.

Thank you,

John

 

either measure the ring gear or jack up the rear wheels and turn the wheels one revolution and count the turns of the driveshaft. the rpo codes for the rear end build are in the glove box.


looking at a ujoint is not a failsafe way to check its operation. remove the driveshaft and move each joint by hand.


if you can rebuild a transmission, a rear diff is a piece of cake. You will need some special tools so it may not be worth it to spend this money for 1 rebuild. tools to remove the pinion bearing and case bearings are expensive.


try automanual.biz for a teardown and rebuild manual.