CK5
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Problem with Detroit Locker?

I have a small update: I'm back to square one.

I've determined that the axle tubes haven't moved. I put the truck up on a jack today, released all force between the pinion and the ring gear, and checked for slop in the pinion: It's nice and tight. I did note that there was a strange whine coming from somewhere in the drivetrain when I spun the wheel. The dumb part is that I didn't note which direction I was spinning the wheel, so I can't tell you if it was reverse or not. :doah:

So, as far as I can tell, my problem is either in my Detroit or somewhere further up the drive train. I've had a leak from my transfer case for some time now. I think I will try to pull that out soon and reseal it, which will give me an opportunity to see what is going on in there. It's an NP241.

We live in a place with a steep driveway, so rather than back the truck out in gear, I put the transfer case in neutral and rolled backwards. I had no binding. I have tried rolling with just the transmission in neutral, and it did bind up. So I'm wondering if the problem is in fact in the transfer case. I put it in low gear and backed down hill, and the binding was still there but much less significant. It could be, however, that the gearing was so low that it just pushed through the binding and I didn't feel it as much (my gears do a good job pushing me even through my brake sometimes).

:dunno:
 
I had similar problem with my 94 1500 ,binding and noise it was caused by broken snap ring on the output shaft of t case . Didn't have to remove t case to fix just removed driveshaft and output housing on t case.
 
Check how much play the chain has.

Put truck in 4wd and unlock the hubs. (Truck in park, brake set, wheels chocked, chained to a tree, what ever need so your not run over) climb under and turn front shaft back and forth, how far will it turn stop to stop?

Not sure how much is acceptable, but this may give a good starting point.
 
Have you taken the cover off yet?

It could be as simple as a carrier bolt that has loosened up.... I remember the guy here with the white s10 said his ring gear bolts would never stay in with his Detroit and they always walked out.
 
Have you taken the cover off yet?

It could be as simple as a carrier bolt that has loosened up.... I remember the guy here with the white s10 said his ring gear bolts would never stay in with his Detroit and they always walked out.

Yes. Everything looked perfect. No loose bolts. In fact, the oil was so clean that I regretted opening it up.
 
Yeah id suspect the tcase next.

Mine has been acting up a little bit and causing some strange noises here and there. One of my winter projects.
 
Colby,
I have to bring an engineer back to Portland to catch a flight early Thursday morning. I could grab a hotel Wednesday night on your side of town after dropping him off. If you can go into work late Thursday. I'll look at your truck for you. Let me know
 
Colby,
I have to bring an engineer back to Portland to catch a flight early Thursday morning. I could grab a hotel Wednesday night on your side of town after dropping him off. If you can go into work late Thursday. I'll look at your truck for you. Let me know

That's a really kind offer. I can't go in to work late on Thursday, unfortunately, as I am going out of town this weekend and have to get ahead on work this week before I fly out on Friday. I really appreciate the offer though. I'll probably be in SE Portland on Thursday morning (roughly at 26th and Powell), if you're in the area, and you want to say hello on your way through town. That's not close to your route from the airport southward, though.
 
Did you get this figured out?

I think so. It turns out that the "exhaust shop" (and I use the term lightly) that put in my cat didn't reattach my rear exhaust hangar, so it was sitting on the tire. When I would back up, the exhaust would get caught on the tire and cause things to buck and bang. I noticed it at the same time I noticed the noise, but didn't think they were related. Since I didn't trust the exhaust shop, I didn't want to bring my truck back in to fix the exhaust till I figured out what was wrong with my Detroit because I didn't want them to gun it in reverse and blow up my rear axle. I got tired of hunting for the solution, and decided to have the exhaust hangar put back on. Sure enough, it solved the problem. :doah:
 
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