Hi,
Here is the deal, I had a stock 10 bolt upgraded from stock 2.73 peg-leg to a SLP posi unit with Moser 28spline axles and Richmond 3.42 gears....rear end was setup by the shop with 2/1000 gap (?) that he said was fine for everyday driving which is what this car susposed to do. Problem is, under acceleration the rear will whine and quite loud at 2,000 - 2,200RPM (Other RPM not as noticable, but it is still there) but if it is decelerating at that RPM (or any other) it makes no noise???
The dude who built the rear(does alot of rears.....drag setups too, so he is susposed to be good) said that it probably just needs to wear in?? Well, its been alittle over 1,000 miles on it and it is still as loud as day one.
What is wrong with it and how can I fix it?

Thanks,
MM

 

Richmond gears are famus for there gears whinning.I have a set of Richmond 4.10s and they whine.Its no big deal but it does get annoying.Later.

 

It really depends on how loud the whine is. If it does it all the time, under acceleration, cruising and down shifting it's probably just the gears. If it were mine I'd pull the cover and check the tooth contact pattern with some marking compound.

 

So this is normal for Richmond gears? That sucks.....
Its only under acceleration or when drivetrain is engaged (aka just barely touching the gas) that it whines. And yes it is loud(but only unbearable at 2,000 -2,200RPM, but that is normal cruising RPMs so it gets old quick!!).
Now if it is hard acceleration or more than moderate, I don't hear it, just normal driving (which this car does alot of since it is a daily driver).
So, there is no wonder fluid or limited slip additive that can be added to quiten it down a bit?

Thanks,
MM

 

my richmond 3.42 also whine. I had another mechanic check them out. He tried 4 times to get the whine out and they still have a slight whine. I have heard that this is normal.

jimjohn

 

.002 air gap??? If that's the backlash, those gears are not going to last very long. It should be more like .006-.010 range with a total variance of .002.

When gears are lapped with a toe pattern (like Richmond), they tend to whine more, but they are stronger. The opposite is true of a heel pattern gear.

You can set the pinion depth a little deeper to run it as more of a heel pattern which will help some.

Miles

 

I think he said total variance of .002.
So, I guess i am goin to have to invest in a stereo system to drown out the rear end whine...
Thanks

 

That sounds awful strange. Whine under acceleration is not good, and 0.002 backlash is way too tight. Before you say anything, I just installed my old rear in a friend's car (Richmond 3.23s) and it whines slightly on coastdown. They are absolutely silent on accel, and that's after surviving a posi explosion.

I'd have those gears checked again if I were you.