Hey guys, I posted this same question on yahoo answers but I thought I'd ask the question here too:

I was driving my car yesterday, when suddenly it felt like my engine was losing power. I depressed the gas further, and then I hear a pop followed by one or both of my rear tires locking up completely. This killed my engine, so I put the car in neutral. It all happened so fast, so it's hard to recall for sure, but once I put the car in neutral, the rear tires stopped binding. So I started my car and limped it to my destination.

Now when I drive it, it makes what sounds like a grinding sound coming from the back. But upon looking closer, it's actually more of a rocking/grinding sound. And it seems to eminate from both rear wheels. I propped the wheels up and turned the engine on and put it in gear so the wheels could spin freely, and I noticed when it was in third gear, the right tire was spinning several times faster than the left tire. I was actually able to use my hand to stop the left tire completely, and this was while it was engaged. When I had my hand on it, I did feel a slight force every time the axel rod revolved, but it was no more than a few pounds. I also noticed that when I had the car in first gear with the engine off, both tires seemed to have no problem spinning almost completely freely like it's in neutral. What the heck is wrong with my car? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks so much.

Here's some additional info on my car:

1988 camaro rs; 2.8l 6 cylinder manual 5 speed transmission. Rear wheel drive

 

Your rear gearset is most likely gone.

 

Sounds like something in your rear end let go. Maybe you lost some teeth off the ring gear, which wedged between the ring & pinion, caused the R&P to lock up which locked the wheels/tires. After shifting to neutral, the parts dropped in the oil and out of being locked up. Now you can roll and have enough gear overlap that you are not locking up again.
The noise could be from metal chunks in the bearings.

Either rebuild the rear... all new bearings and seals (while you're in there), new gear set, and a posi if the budget allows. Or find a take-out from a local salvage yard. It can be as simple as bolt up, and re-bleed the brake lines.

This is typical of an open = non-posi = non-limited-slip rearend. One side has a little more bearing and/or brake drag, allowing the other wheel/tire to since faster.

Joe

 

As far as the wheels turning when the rear end is in the air, that is completely normal for a car with a standard differential. Being able to stop one wheel from spinning while the other one turns 2 times as fast is normal for a standard differential.

The noise could be from the cross shaft in the differential being loose. Sometimes the retaining bolt will break and allow the shaft to move out of the differential and hit the pinion gear. This would lock up the rear end, and it would also damage parts inside the rear end. You need to take it to someone who knows something about rear ends and someone that you can trust and have them get inside it and see what is wrong. This could be dangerous to drive.

 

Thanks so much for the help guys. Approximately how much money am I looking at if I attempt to do it myself and how much would it cost if I took it to a mechanic?

 

There is quite a spread: As little as $50 for a salvage yard, or Craigslist find. Or $300 up to $1k depending of how many new parts and paying to someone to rebuild it. I don't do gears, and if you are asking the question, you should probably leave that to someone with experience.

A lot depends on your skill set and who you know.

 

Judging by the questions that you asked I would say that you need to take it to someone who knows what they are doing. Messing around inside the rear end isn't the same as rebuilding an engine. You must know what you are doing or you will screw it up and cost yourself a lot more money.