Alright, had the trans rebuilt, due to the problems I was having in OD and then I lost the ability to use 3rd and 4th. Oh well (as to those problems turned out to be a cracked drum).

Now, today I bring it home from the trans shop. Pulling into my driveway I hear in reverse clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk, coming from what sounds like the rear end. Rolling its not hjeard, only when I give it some gas. Nothing seems to be wrong with the brakes. I don't know how well the rear end was maintained by the last owner (was a woman, and a lot of men don't know about rear maintenance), so I'm guessing its possible I have a problem with the rear now. I checked the lube and the plug came out easy - almost too easy, leaving me to believe it was dry and right before the sale it was filled.

If anything's wrong with the rear (posi, gear missing teeth), is it possible that ir presents itself while only in reverse? My father and I believe any problem back there would appear in any gear.

The 5 year search for a mint third gen with low miles seems to be a failure. At 53,000mi I've had trans and now apparently rear problems.

 

Keeping a car low mileage is tricky. Especially with auto trannies. The seals/cltches soak on the lower parts imersed in fluid and dry up on the top and when you start driving them again sometimes... As far as the rear goes sometimes the top side of the internals corode if sitting for long periods of time as the lube film eventually runs off and leaves them unprotected. This is doubly dangerous in cold weather climates due to moisture/condensation woes when the temps change.

 

Thanks for the quick reply.

That's what I figured with the trans, sitting there parts had died out. The only thing that baffled be was the cracked drum, but I guess that comes by adding the heat of operation to the equation.

As far as the rear, I hadn't even thought of that, I guess I kinda forgot air does get in there... thanks.

I'm guessing the gear should be the first thing I check, easy enough. Mising teeth, worn teeth, etc.

Now, to be honest I've never seen a posi unit outside of the rear. How do I inspect that, or am I better bringing that to someone that knows what they're doing?

 

Theres not much to them. Two types in our cars a ten bolt or a nine bolt. Nine bolts are better. If anything is broken there will be bits in the bottom of the pot and you should see clearly where they came from. If no bits check for play. It should all be fairly tight. There should be a little backlash between the ring and pinion but again it shouldn't be sloppy. If it has broken chunks or is sloppy you may wish to find a reputable rear end speciallist to get it fixed properly or start looking for another rear at swap meets or a JY. Good luck man.