Riles

iTrader: (1)

Alright guys, I have an odd new problem in my trans swap. I thought I was finished since the trans is installed, silly me.

Anyway, for a little background. When I bought the swap kit, the guy I bought it from never gave me all the pieces, so I've been trying hard to scrounge everything together. I finally got everything I needed, installed the tranny, and started the engine. Unfortunately, I burned through the clutch hose since it was sitting on the header, so I'm waiting on one to come in on Monday. Also, I don't have a torque arm mount yet, since we both didn't know that they are a different size on the T-5.

On to the problem... I decided to try to start the car with it in gear today, just to verify that everything works. I put the tranny in first, fired up the engine, and the car moved. Success! Well, not really. The car doesn't move in conjunction with engine rpms, similar to a slipping clutch. I can give it some gas and it won't move, but then I let it idle and it starts to get up to speed.

I assumed it was a slipping clutch, which wouldn't surprise me since I've never installed a clutch before, I figured maybe I did it wrong. So, I start pushing the car to get it back in to the garage (I took it about 400 feet down the road into a cul-de-sac). I left the engine on, hoping it would "catch" and help me push the car in.

As soon as I got up some speed on foot, something caught and it started moving. Now, here is what really gets me- it stops again, so I look underneath the car from behind, and the driveshaft is spinning!!! That's right, the car isn't moving, but the driveshaft is spinning!

At first I figure the rear end is just shot, but then I thought about it and I can't see how that would happen, since I thought the rear end is just made up of gears that mesh with each other.

A list of symptoms:
-driveshaft spins but car doesn't move
-if you push it up to 1 or 2 mph, something "catches" and the car moves normally
-when the car isn't moving, it makes a metal on metal rubbing sound, which you can also hear if you put your ear next to one of the brake drums
-it also makes a clunking sound, although I think thats just the torque arm moving around

*Note: The only two things not hooked up are the torque arm and the clutch pedal.

I thought the rear end might have been messed up since there was a pretty big shock when my 700R4 blew, but I couldn't really find out until I moved the car.

Did something break in my rear?

327???

yep, it sounds like you busted it. pull the cover off and look for extra pieces.

2tonedmaro89

yea it sounded like my rear did....time for 3.73's!! lol

ibmtech

iTrader: (1)

Put the rear end of your car on a jack... Put your Trans in Park. If you can spin your rear tires that would be a great sign that your Rear end is going going gone...

Riles

iTrader: (1)

Damn. What is the quickest, cheapest way to fix it? Would it be easier than the trans swap I just did? If you can't tell, I know nothing about rears.

I'm having a bitch of a time getting parts. Everybody takes way longer to deliver stuff than they should.

Jay

iTrader: (2)

easiest fix is to swap in a new one and be done with it. You can find newer 4th gen setups for like $200 though they are a little wider they still bolt in.

5678TA

spider gears are gone.. been there, done that.. get a new differential.. or better yet, get a mini spool.. jus kiddin

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Seems rather like there's a piece of history missing somewhere.

What else has happened to this car, that you know of? How long have you had the car?

Has the rear end EVER worked, that you know of?

Have you worked on the rear end at any point in this process?

Could it have 26-spline axles and a 28-spline carrier?

What does it look like inside? (Surely you looked at it before starting a guessing contest on the Internet, right?) What did you see when you looked at it?

Do you know what will happen if you get the car moving without the torque arm hooked up, and you hit the brakes? Well in case you don't, the front end of the torque arm will be forced down and hit the ground, and potentially pole-vault the rear of the car 4 feet into the air if it digs into the pavement.

DO NOT attempt to drive the car AT ALL in this condition!!! You are taking your life, and the lives of everyone around you in your hands with this behavior!!!!!!

Jay

iTrader: (2)

while I certainly agree that the car should not be driven as it is, isn't it long enough to where it will just slam down on the transmission crossmember? It's been awhile since I looked at the stock setup.

Riles

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the replies, guys. Don't worry, I wasn't attempting to drive it any faster than a couple mph- I wanted to make sure that my transmission swap worked. The clutch hydraulics aren't working right now, so I can't even shift.

As far as the history of the car, I've driven it for a few months and everything was fine, although it did have a bit of a whine at higher speeds. Considering the transmission blew, I just assumed it was the tranny.

But in terms of whether or not the diff ever worked, it did for a long time. I think that when my transmission broke, it damaged the rear as well, since I was going about 35 mph when it broke.

I really appreciate the help. I'm looking for a new (used) rear end as we speak, hopefully I can be completely back on the road in a week or two.