Rear diff Gone under 17k

[turbofanman]

My rear Diff is being replaced for makeing "horrendous" noise with under 17k miles. My friends rear Diff has been replaced at 10k and is now making noise again after 5 k. What's up with this?:undecided

[rcam81]

Welcome to the group. If you would fill in your profile it would help us with your issues.

[wmolzon]

i think its safe to say you are talking about an AWD SS? i heard that the rears are not that great on them (from the sales manager) but they take care of it.

[TCnightrain]

I just got the word, I am getting a new rear from the dealer. It seems that they finally got the word from gm that the Eaton rears do not take posi fluid.

[blkbrd79]

mine gone at 6,000miles

[eddie9217]

at least you got 17,000, out of it. my 2007 went around 2,000. yes 2,000 miles, about 3 months after a got it brand new.:sadcry::sadcry: dealer had truck for 3 days to replace the rear.

[keeksv]

Going in for my second rear at 13K on Monday. First was at 4K.
Bone stock.

[direland67]

Mine also went bad around 4000 miles. No problems thus far after the replacement (crossing fingers)

[ctsv 408]

2007 14k miles going in for it's 4th rear end. Wifes car, bone stock and she drives like my grandma. Pathetic.

[eddie9217]

it looks like i'll be taking mine in again for a second rear,:sadcry::sadcry:just started making that same loud noise in reverse. it has 9300 miles. :weird:

[GS Audio]

2007 14k miles going in for it's 4th rear end. Wifes car, bone stock and she drives like my grandma. Pathetic.

My wife has an 07 AWD 3SS......about 15k miles.

What should I be listening for? She's a little clueless with these things, so I wanna make sure we don't have this issue creeping up on us.:(

[DucatiSS]

Just back out of a parking space and turn the steering wheel. You will know.

[fbcoachb25]

I spoke to the sales manager today and he told me that I will definitely be in for a new rear diff after a bit of driving. His exact words were, "it's a corvette engine. It is not built to haul that much weight or to run AWD. So the rear differential will probably go bad on you. But Gm doesn't replace them anymore, they just change the fluid and make adjustments." I thought this was great news seeing as how I have only put 100 miles on my new TBSS, knowing that I will be taking it in for a warranty issue and driving a loaner IMpala or Malibu once a year is great. :bonk:

[TJay74]

That is not exactly correct from what the service writer said. GM requires 2 fluid changes and then they will pay for a rebuild of the rear carriers. They basically replae the carrier, reuse the gears, changes all of the bearing and refill the diff.

I pushed hard enough and had this done on mine the first time at 2780 miles. I have 5800 now 5 months later and have not had any more issues with mine since then.

[hatchet669]

same thing said in my class

every company knows there is a few percent of material going out that are not fully in spec form there manufactures.. they dont have the time and money to check every part and every feature to make sure its rite.. instead they just make plans for that few % to do a few repairs and if not buy back...

sometimes people get the bad ones with other bad ones.. sometimes the replacement mite be the same.. but it does sound weird but i would check after a few hundred miles to make sure nothing is lose.. it could be something there missing and causing an issue..

[Chevy-TB-lover]

My rear Diff is being replaced for makeing "horrendous" noise with under 17k miles. My friends rear Diff has been replaced at 10k and is now making noise again after 5 k. What's up with this?:undecided

Whats the noise sound like? I think mine is going again.

[Lapdog57]

Had the fluid changed at 6500, worked for a while. Now at 10,500 it was making horrendous (sp) noises. Took it in and they flushed fluids again but it didn't work so they went ahead and changed out the rear diff. Hope this works.....:crazy:

[Flyin_Fer]

My diff was replaced about 5000 miles ago (about 18,xxx).

About 1500 miles ago it began grinding again.

Brought it in about 500 miles ago.

They cited a TSB for a fluid change (alternative, not just refreshing same formula). Wanted me to drive it to work it in. Drove it a week, got even worse.

Back in, cited another TSB for an additive. Again, wanted me to work it in. MUCH better for the last week. I do worry about how much wear and tear the clutches went through for the last 1000 miles though. Looks like I'm gonna be buying an extended warranty before my 3 years are up just to keep my sanity.

FYI, no dealer issues with reset to stock on my SC tuner.

[fbcoachb25]

Going in for my rear diff on Saturday at 2000 miles. They said that the first step is to replace the fluid, and then if you have a problem after that they will consider replacing the rear diff..........

This blows that I spent $30K on a brand new truck and I am already in for a warranty issue.......why don't they just make a rear diff that fixes the problem?:mad:

[Flyin_Fer]

FYI, the additive did help mine, but 1000 miles later, I am hearing minor grinding again. I doubt all the testing time did the rear end much good.

I intend to go in again at my convenience, and tell em to do all three things at once and lets see if that takes care of it once and for all (fingers crossed):


New rear end
New fluid formula
Additive

[fbcoachb25]

Went in this morning for my first rear diff service.....they followed the TSB to the letter and refused to give me the additive....only changed the fluid and told me that they know they will be seeing me again in a month or 2 for the additive.......and in about 6 months for the rebuild......what a crock of s*&t! This is above an beyond enough of a problem for a recall.......:mad:

[jetttstream]

Went in this morning for my first rear diff service.....they followed the TSB to the letter and refused to give me the additive....only changed the fluid and told me that they know they will be seeing me again in a month or 2 for the additive.......and in about 6 months for the rebuild......what a crock of s*&t! This is above an beyond enough of a problem for a recall.......:mad:

Chris,

Keep us posted! I am so sorry to hear trouble at 2000 miles that is BS!

-Mike

[rosemr]

At about 2K miles, I noticed a noise when the truck turned left to right. I knew of this problem from the constant slew of people who have the same problem on this board. So I brought it in and they replaced the fluid...that lasted a day. Brought it back, they replaced the rear end. They had it 1 day...they said its common, even on the Corvette. Now, it makes no noise or anything.

I dont get as pissed as some of you on this board however. GM owns this car for 3/36 on the basic...and 5/100 on the drive train. So I am perplexed why you all get so upset. Its a machine...its going to break. But as long as they fix it...who cares? They even paid for the rental car from Enterprise.

Ed Bozarth Chevy in Lonetree, CO has taken great care of my car and stands behind the fix.

[maxtbss]

OK, I'm wondering, is my TBSS special? I'm at 54K with a AWD '06 SS with NO problems. Never had a fluid change, have taken good care, but not babied it, if fact have towed, ran it hard, and at times have not been gentle. Bone stock. So what's up? Any ideas???

[fbcoachb25]

was in for the 2nd service of my rear diff today. They flushed the fluid and put in the additive. The service manager told me that if I continue to have problems with it that he is going to give me the number to GM so I can call to complain. He said that GM has been making it difficult on dealerships when it is time to rebuild the rear diff on the TBSS.:bonk:

But, they ordered my Rocker panel protection kit today, so I can avoid the Paint chips before the winter hits. SHould have it installed right after the Thanksgiving holiday. :excited:

[Flyin_Fer]

At about 2K miles, I noticed a noise when the truck turned left to right. I knew of this problem from the constant slew of people who have the same problem on this board. So I brought it in and they replaced the fluid...that lasted a day. Brought it back, they replaced the rear end. They had it 1 day...they said its common, even on the Corvette. Now, it makes no noise or anything.

I dont get as pissed as some of you on this board however. GM owns this car for 3/36 on the basic...and 5/100 on the drive train. So I am perplexed why you all get so upset. Its a machine...its going to break. But as long as they fix it...who cares? They even paid for the rental car from Enterprise.

Ed Bozarth Chevy in Lonetree, CO has taken great care of my car and stands behind the fix.

Congratulations on having the 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. I have a 2006 and mine ends at 36000 (about 9000 more to go).

I wouldn't say I'm upset, but I'm getting really tired of trips to the dealer, waiting to turn the car over to them, waiting to get a rental from the overworked Enterprise person (and of course, hearing the obligatory "the rental may not be covered if it turns out to be non warranty or takes less than 2 hours" dealer disclaimer), moving the car seat to the rental, getting to work late.

And in 9000 more miles, prepared for my next full diff replacement 4000 miles after the last one, I guess if you want to buy my TBSS I'm cool.

[Flyin_Fer]

OK, after my last post, they rebuilt the rear end, added the new fluid, and the additive. Worked fine until about 500 miles ago. Grinding again. I'm at 35,500, and I just bought the extended warranty (from a bankrupt company... yeah yeah, I know, but it seems so ludicrous... put yourself in my shoes). I'll be going in for my THIRD rear end before 36,000...

By the way, I am in no way rough on this thing.

[Flyin_Fer]

Truck is done. In the shop for a week and a half.

Mechanic did a great job, tore down EVERYTHING three times when first two fixes weren't the whole deal. Painted the gears to check meshing, replaced and checked preload on side bearings, replaced pinion bearings, checked preload again, checked backlash, replaced rear axle seals, reinstalled EVERYTHING, tested, found nut on pinion walking off (threads bad), Reinstalled EVERYTHING...

I probably left out 80% of his writeup, but lack of paragraphs is true to original :p

On a side note, he/she didn't like the 'replacment' fluid and additive GM spec'd on last rebuild, so left it out this time per latest TSB.

I figure three tear downs and rebuilds would have run me about $6,000 if not for the warranty. No regrets buying the extended warranty (I still have 400 miles to go on 36,000 mile standard bumper to bumper).

[MKETBSS79]

Flyin_Fer...I agree with the mechanic. :iagree: Oil additives are for altering friction material surfaces and seals...not for metal-to-metal surfaces. At best, the oil additive would only cushion the interface and buy a little time. If the noise is already present, the damage to the tooth surfaces has likely already started. Then, only a new ring and pinion set (correctly installed) would fix the problem.

I'd say these rear axles are sized correctly for the application. I think the gear sets are just not being installed correctly...and that the OEM is having a difficult time getting the component supplier to correct the problem.

My AWD has not yet had rear axle issues (just front end stuff), but I sympathize with the frustration. I'll be checking my backlash and tooth pattern when I replace my rear axle fluid for sure.

[Flyin_Fer]

Flyin_Fer...I agree with the mechanic. :iagree: Oil additives are for altering friction material surfaces and seals...not for metal-to-metal surfaces. At best, the oil additive would only cushion the interface and buy a little time. If the noise is already present, the damage to the tooth surfaces has likely already started. Then, only a new ring and pinion set (correctly installed) would fix the problem.

I'd say these rear axles are sized correctly for the application. I think the gear sets are just not being installed correctly...and that the OEM is having a difficult time getting the component supplier to correct the problem.

My AWD has not yet had rear axle issues (just front end stuff), but I sympathize with the frustration. I'll be checking my backlash and tooth pattern when I replace my rear axle fluid for sure.

Hi MKE, Actually, you are agreeing with their latest TSB, which the mechanic was complying with (but the way I wrote it, it sounded like he/she was acting on more free will than that).

I'm not big on additives myself, but GM was touting the additive as Rogaine for the rear diff the LAST rebuild I had it in for.

[Gord]

OK, I'm wondering, is my TBSS special? I'm at 54K with a AWD '06 SS with NO problems. Never had a fluid change, have taken good care, but not babied it, if fact have towed, ran it hard, and at times have not been gentle. Bone stock. So what's up? Any ideas???

Mine was fine UNTIl the fluid change, so keep your fingers crossed.

I'm not sure I have the same issue though. Mine seems to be the side gears or the right rear bearings that are going. I have WAY too much play (1/2") in the right rear wheel once the caliper is removed. Truck is going in tomorrow to see what a driveline shop has to say, as warranty is long gone.