Diff Bearing Play and clunking noise (Page 1/2)
willyt NOV 29, 01:59 PM
Thank you all for your help with my ignition problems. After finally getting my car running again I noticed a clunking noise when accelerating from a stop. I did some digging and engine/trans mounts don't look noticibly bad, however I did notice that when i push up/down on the axle near the trans, the other axle moves as well. It looks like this means my diff bearings are worn. Does anyone know: A) if this could be causing my noise, B) how much play is too much play in the axles, C) is there an easy way to tell if this is causing my noise or if it could be something else? THanks for the help.
willyt NOV 29, 02:00 PM
Also my axle seals are letting out a pretty good leak.
willyt NOV 29, 02:49 PM
Here is the link to a video showing how much play I have. This is with me pushing on the opposite axle.

https://youtu.be/X8e9ur6Q36g
Raydar NOV 29, 03:50 PM
What I have heard is that when you rock one axle up or down, any movement transferred to the other axle is too much. That is the entire diff moving around. The bearings are suppose to hold the side gears securely in place.
I have to believe that this could be causing your clunking noise. Any time you change the loading on the diff from an accel to a a decel, or vice versa, the diff is going to move around until the slack is taken up.

I fragged one, driving it that way, but I am of the belief that it had other problems, too.
YMMV.
willyt NOV 29, 03:57 PM
I have read that too, and that's what I'm afraid of. I would prefer not to have to pull the engine and trans because I have never done anything of that scale before, but it's looking like that is what I need to do.
willyt NOV 29, 04:50 PM
while I was under the car, i found this. It looks like a spot for a mount?? Possibly for a different car or am I missing something?
Raydar NOV 29, 08:17 PM
That looks to be the "trunk side" of the engine?

Just off the top of my head, I can't think of anything else that is supposed to bolt there. Unless someone unbolted that harness bracket, and bolted it back to a different hole.

(Edit - If that's a replacement engine, and came from an auto trans car, there is a tailshaft support that bolts to that side of the block. Might be what happened. This could also be the case if the car was swapped from an auto to a manual.)

Regardless... While intimidating, dropping the cradle is not that difficult, in the grand scheme of things. Many of us have done it, and can talk you through it. There's even an entire procedure that we can link you to. You will need to do it safely, however.
The difficult part (at least as far as I'm concerned) will be finding a replacement trans, or someone to rework that one.
There are numerous replacement options, however.

2nd edit... Here's the procedure. http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum9/HTML/000024.html

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 11-29-2020).]

willyt NOV 29, 08:43 PM
It is on the front side of the engine, as a reference that is the alternator in the corner of the picture. After doing some research I believe I can pull the cradle, it will however be difficult to replace the bearings. I am planning on splitting the case myself and having a shop press new ones in.
willyt NOV 29, 10:12 PM
Also I believe I have all the info I need, but does anyone else want to confirm the opinion that I in fact need to replace the diff bearing before I go through all this work?
willyt NOV 30, 06:36 AM
Also I believe I have all the info I need, but does anyone else want to confirm the opinion that I in fact need to replace the diff bearing before I go through all this work?