AWD GM SUV front diff issues

D

Dart331Stroker

Forum Member
Anyone ever work on one of these? I have 2004 Buick Rainier with AWD, and the LS engine. I am confident it has a bad bearing in it, we have some growling, I know it is not the wheel bearings, as they have been done in the last year both sides. When running the car in the air, you can hear the sounds in the unit. It has been leaking as I found out when taking off the skid plate, when I refilled it, it began leakin right away. I have contacted a few places here in Jacksonville Florida and they are asking a crazy amount to work on these things.

My question is: Can this be taken out without lifting the engine? Where can we get these rebuilt for a fair amount, who has done this job themselves? I am looking for as much input as possible!

Thanks
John Keyes
 
I'm actually going to be tackling this on the same car (My wifes 03 Bravada) this week. Same problem, diff pissed out all the fluid and ate it's self. From what I've seen 1BADAIR has it right, pull the oil pan and drop the diff. Seems to be about a 10 hour job from what I've read.

My Wife's started making noise 8 months ago, so I pulled the driveshaft and CV shafts, been driving it like that for 20k miles, no problem. Being down in FL, you may just want to go that route.

-Rob
 
seems common. last spring i was at a dyno day at a local shop. They had one in for the same thing. The front axle was TOAST! blew the case and oil pan too i think
 
I have a humming sound on my escalade too, def not the hubs. I changed the fluid out of the front diff and still have tbe noise, but when I drained the fluid it seemed very low so I think she's toast.I don't see signs of leaks anywhere but I only had it a year. Idk if the previous owner noticed or messed with it. Sucks, trucks gonna be down for a weekend soon.
 
On my 03 SS I rebuilt the front diff. To adjust bearing preload/backlash there are threaded adjusters (similar to a 9 inch Ford) and there are lock tabs to hold them in place. One of the lock tabs broke and allowed the adjuster to move which wiper out one of my carrier bearings.
 
RIVMAN, I had read that the driveshaft could not be removed from the transfer case due to leakage, is that not true? What did you do to remedy tht?

You can find these used on Ebay from time to time, just worried about history.


Thanks
 
Not true, the front driveshaft can be removed from the splined shaft without disturbing any seals.

Removing the CV's caused leakage from the Diff, but I drained it and plugged the outputs. Besides, I didn't plan on re-using the Diff anyways.

I purchased a used diff from a company in Detroit that parts trailblazers, envoys, ect... They had a dozen on the shelf, unknown mileage but I plan on splitting / inspecting it before installation. It feels like new though.

Front driveshaft output:
DSC01942.jpg


-Rob
 
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