What causes a rear axle to lock up?
There are a few possible causes for the wheel to get locked. The most likely would be low differential fluid, differential side gears, a ring and pinion failure, or a failing limited slip unit. The first thing checked will be the level and condition of the differential fluid.
How do I know how many axles my vehicle has?
It’s easy to identify the number of axles that your car or any other vehicle has. Just look at your car from the side, then count the pairs of tires. Most cars have four tires in total, or two sets of tires, with one in the front and one in the rear. Two sets of tires equal two axles.
What happens when a rear end locks up?
If left too long or if the fluid starts to run low, the differential will become noisy and can eventually fail. If that happens, the gears can seize, locking up the rear wheels and potentially causing a lot of damage or even an accident.
How do you diagnose a rear differential?
Here are the most common bad differential symptoms to look out for:
- Your vehicle is quickly going through oil.
- Difficulty steering.
- A loud front differential noise, such as the grinding of gears, clunking, or a “howling” sound.
- Rear differential noises.
- Extensive and inexplicable wear and tear on your tires.
What happens when an 8.8 inch axle fails?
When the axle shaft fails on a C-washer-style axle, such as the 8.8 axle, nothing is holding the wheel in place, except for the disc brake caliper brackets, if your vehicle has rear discs. These brackets were never designed to withstand axle failures and this high level of loading, and therefore they end up failing as well.
Do you need to clear the axle housing?
The axle shafts need to clear the axle housing to be fully removed. If you are going to perform a standard rebuild, which means replacing bearings, seals, and clutch pack, it is imperative to take good notes of the shims’ locations so you can return the axle back into service with minimal adjustments required.
Where are the B-O-P rear axles located?
You can identify the B-O-P assemblies by the two reverse-scalloped sections of the differential cover located at the 9 and 3 o’clock positions. B-O-P axles also have identifying grooves traveling along each side of the differential housing.
Where do you find the Axle code on a Buick?
Buick and Oldsmobile axles can be identified by their code, usually found on the right rear side of the differential carrier or on the passenger side axle tube. The axle code, if on the differential, is comprised of one or two letters for 1964-’70 models, followed by a three-digit build date.