engine and drivetrain Rear end woes, Part 2

[72touring]

As a recap, I started my 1971 2002 the other night. Everything sounded perfectly normal. I let the clutch out and felt a loud thud that appeared to come from the back, with a small amount of forward movement. I push the clutch in and release again. This time all I get is high whine and no movement/power to rear wheels. As I let the car roll into another parking spot (with engine off, ignition on, car in neutral), I noticed a pronounced clicking sound.

Kind responses were both possible failure of the spline in the rear stub axle that connects the half-shaft/CV Joint assembly to the rear wheel hub, as well as loss of bolts that hold the rear axles to the diff.

I crawled under last night to inspect. All bolts are in place and tight. I get a little movement on both rear halfshafts (back and forth from boot to diff). Is that normal? I just hope it's not the diff. Again, thanks in advance for any wisdom.

[Mike Self]

Jack the car up so both rear wheels are off the ground and supported on stands.

Start the car, put in first and let out the clutch. Then see what's moving. If the driveshaft isn't moving, the problem is either in the clutch or the tranny. If the driveshaft moves but the rear axles don't, it's probably in the diff.

You might also loosen the emergency brake cable on one side, then set the brake with the engine running and the car in gear (still up on stands). That'll tell you if the spider gears are performing their assigned duties inside the diff.

Hope it's something easy--altho diffs are very long lived so good used ones aren't hard to come by, and are pretty easy to replace.

cheers

mike

[Paul7002]

(nt)

[hpsenicka]

Jack the car up so both rear wheels are off the ground and supported on stands.

Start the car, put in first and let out the clutch. Then see what's moving. If the driveshaft isn't moving, the problem is either in the clutch or the tranny. If the driveshaft moves but the rear axles don't, it's probably in the diff.

You might also loosen the emergency brake cable on one side, then set the brake with the engine running and the car in gear (still up on stands). That'll tell you if the spider gears are performing their assigned duties inside the diff.

Hope it's something easy--altho diffs are very long lived so good used ones aren't hard to come by, and are pretty easy to replace.

cheers

mike

If after completing the above diagnostic steps you still haven't isolated the problem... engage the e-bake. If one of the rear axles is turning, but the corresponding wheel isn't, you have a stub axle spline failure.