Got new gears put in my diff last summer, Motive 3.42's, along with new bearings and seals and a T/A Cover. Cheaped out big time with the install however.

I went with the cheapest place and had a hell of a time just getting my car back. They were supposedly a performance shop, but whatever. Anyways, everything was fine for a few weeks, but pretty soon I began noticing a howling coming from the rear, which steadily got worse for a few weeks. I tried getting ahold of the place I had the work done, but no luck. It eventually stopped getting worse, with the worst noise being above 35mph and only under power. If i get off the power, itll stop, but as soon as i give it power, it comes back.

Id love to take it somewhere GOOD and have them fix it, but im running quite low on funds and as of right now, its a very secondary vehicle. However, what is concerning me the most is the amount of fluid the cover leaks. I would imagine that after almost a year of leaking, there cant be that much fluid left in there



Soooo, my question is this, would changing the fluid out to something thicker/thinner possibly help with the whine problem, at least in the short term, until i can get it fixed properly? Also, what is everything supposed to be torqued to on the cover? And, can I use just normal thread sealant on the two drain plugs on the cover so they dont leak, or do i have to use something special, due to the heat generated by the rear?


Sorry for the extreme length

 

Anybody got anything?

 

Is it possible that the lack of gear lube is causing the noise? Have you checked the level?

Does your cover have the two bearing cap pre-load studs? Is it possible the shop overtightened them and screwed up the bearings?

TA instruction sheet:

http://www.taperformance.com/rear.htm

 

i dont think theres a way to mess up the bearings with the cover preload if it were to it would strip the threads in the alum cover i dont think you could ever titghten them to much IMO.

but yeah how about checking the fluid 1 bolt and thats all add fluid which cost $4 a bottle instead of burning up lord knows how much $$$ in diff work and parts.
time to get dirty man.

 

get it fix properly.

 

Havent checked the level, but the noise began shortly after everything was completed and new and it hasnt changed in a long time. It hasnt been driven very much though, probably 6k miles since last summer when it began and hasnt been beaten on in that time either. It does have the pre load studs, so yeah, it is quite possible that those have been over tightened. Ill check it all this week when i replace the fluid.


Still wondering about thread sealant though. Is any kind good or does it have to be a special kind due to the heat and gear oil?