clunk

I've been trying to get rid of the clunking from my drivetrain for a bit now, replaced both u-joints, only 2 involved, had the driveshaft balanced, it had lost a counter-weight, and they replaced the front yoke also, said it was out-of-round, they didn't have the rear yoke to balance it all together, if they could of, I'm not sure. It started clinking again, shortly after I had it balanced, so, now I have the Differential case cover off, there's play in it, not sure how much is allowable, I also noticed that there was slop in between the "spider gears", I think that's what they're called, and the shaft they are on inside of the gear case, seen bubbles of oil comin out when I turned it back and forth.
So, what should I look for ?
How can I tighten this up ?
Is this the problem ?
I had driven it, before all this, for awhile, with broken motor mounts and tranny mount, it didn't act funny, or the motor didn't look like it was moving that much.
It's a 94 Dodge Dakota, short bed, manual 5 speed transmission, has a 3.9 v-6 in it.

 

I can see the spider gear come out away from the shaft it's mounted on, by about .015 or so, guessin !

 

Gearhead, I'm not familliar with Chrysler products, But if you can get your hands on a manual, or log into (Whats the large auto parts store in the US of A??) Sorry, the name escapes me, Maybe Auto Zone?? They may have some specs for your truck,,, Good Luck,, Roger

 

Where can I shim ? How do you get the case assembly out ? What is backlash, and how and where is it adjusted ?

 

Can you direct me to a link that would show a person how this, (the case assembly), comes out and goes back in !

 

Hello, anybody out there ?

 

Can I get a moderator to comment on this, someone that knows what's goin on here, please. Thank you !

 

Gearhead, I don't know how much movement is between spyder gears, but there is some. (worked on Fords for 20 years, not famillar with Dodge, Sorry) If you think you have too much, Chrysler may have a spyder kit to repair it. Check with the local Tranny place for more info. Backlash is adjusted by shims @ the carrier bearings, or big adjusting nuts in the housing by the bearings.. If you adjust anything & its not right, you'll have a horrible noise & destroy the ring & pinion. Roger

 

Thanks ! I was wondering if some play wouldn't be normal ! Is it possible to pull out the spyder gears, and their shaft and replace them, without having to adjust anything ? This is funny, cause I used to machine the housings for these at Dana !

 

Just pull the 1 bolt from the carrier . Its on the side & I think it should be a 5/16 head. Use a 6 point wrench as they are in with loctite. Slide the pin out & rotate the carrier to remove the gears. push the axles toward the center, remove the horseshoe retaining clip, pull the axles out a couple inches & remove the 2 side gears.. Now is the Ideal time to install new axle seals.. . Roger

 

Ok, that seems easy, but how do I put it back together, do you hafta adjust anything, or just slap the spyder gears in and that's it ! ? It seems to me that you wouldn't have to adjust anything cause your'e not doing anything with the ring and pinion, is this true ?

 

That's right,, Put the spyder gear kit in & put everything back together.. Don't forget to get a new bolt for the pin if it doesn't come in the repair kit.. I know lots of people use the old ones, But if you have ever tried to remove a broken one, the 2~3 bucks for a new one is money well spent.... Roger

 

So you're saying I can put the spyder gears in without having to do anything else, such as adjust backlash, just put the gears in and go ?

 

Just put in the gears & go!! Oh Yea, Dont forget the horseshoe clips on the ends of the axles, but nothing to adjust... Roger

 

Thank you very much ! I thought, from looking at it real closely, that nothing would have to be adjusted.