2001 Suburban K1500 rear end
 

Blown... Pretty well completely.
I got nudged, sitting in the line at a light last week. Got out, saw
there was no damage, waved the idiot off. When I got back in, the light
had changed, traffic had cleared in front, and I started up in a hurry.
Pulled into Drive and hit the gas. One rear wheel (2W-Hi) spun briefly
on damp pavement, then when it bit - Bang! No traction, no motion. I put
it into 4WD and limped it home on the front wheels, then had it towed to
an independent shop.
They confirmed that I had broken spider gear(s), with damage to just
about everything in the case, and referred me to their transmission and
gear shop.
The tranny guy is telling me the stock rear end is weak and frequently
fails if mildly abused like this, and recommends a tougher aftermarket
rear end.
Is anyone familiar with this problem? Any suggestions as to what level
at GM I should try to take up the case for them to cover it? (58k miles
and over 36 months, of course.)
Right now, they've cleared out the broken bits and refilled the case
with oil, so I could drive it home and park it, until I can figure out
what to do - and come up with the $1800 he estimates... Think it's safe
to drive it on the front end alone, for a while?

Dave

On Tue, 21 Dec 2004 04:44:34 GMT, Dave Bell
> wrote:

>:|Blown... Pretty well completely.
>:|I got nudged, sitting in the line at a light last week. Got out, saw
>:|there was no damage, waved the idiot off. When I got back in, the light
>:|had changed, traffic had cleared in front, and I started up in a hurry.
>:|Pulled into Drive and hit the gas. One rear wheel (2W-Hi) spun briefly
>:|on damp pavement, then when it bit - Bang! No traction, no motion. I put
>:|it into 4WD and limped it home on the front wheels, then had it towed to
>:|an independent shop.
>:|They confirmed that I had broken spider gear(s), with damage to just
>:|about everything in the case, and referred me to their transmission and
>:|gear shop.
>:|The tranny guy is telling me the stock rear end is weak and frequently
>:|fails if mildly abused like this, and recommends a tougher aftermarket
>:|rear end.

are you talking about the entire rear axle or the actual differential
itself? a 10 bolt is plenty strong for the applications it's used in.
briefly spinning the tires and catching shouldn't break anything
unless you've got it matted and go from ice to dry pavement ( i.e.
being stupid)


>:|Is anyone familiar with this problem? Any suggestions as to what level
>:|at GM I should try to take up the case for them to cover it? (58k miles
>:|and over 36 months, of course.)

good luck with that..

>:|Right now, they've cleared out the broken bits and refilled the case
>:|with oil, so I could drive it home and park it, until I can figure out
>:|what to do - and come up with the $1800 he estimates... Think it's safe
>:|to drive it on the front end alone, for a while?
>:|
>:|Dave

they cleared out the broken bits? ok.. what exactly is keeping your
axles in the housing then? I'd get it home and park it, don't drive
w/ parts missing out of the rear, you need at least the axle spiders
to properly space out the axles for the C clips and you'll need the
cross pin to keep the axles from pushing in too far.

-Bret

Bret Chase wrote:
> On Tue, 21 Dec 2004 04:44:34 GMT, Dave Bell
> > wrote:
>
>
>>:|Blown... Pretty well completely.
>>:|I got nudged, sitting in the line at a light last week. Got out, saw
>>:|there was no damage, waved the idiot off. When I got back in, the light
>>:|had changed, traffic had cleared in front, and I started up in a hurry.
>>:|Pulled into Drive and hit the gas. One rear wheel (2W-Hi) spun briefly
>>:|on damp pavement, then when it bit - Bang! No traction, no motion. I put
>>:|it into 4WD and limped it home on the front wheels, then had it towed to
>>:|an independent shop.
>>:|They confirmed that I had broken spider gear(s), with damage to just
>>:|about everything in the case, and referred me to their transmission and
>>:|gear shop.
>>:|The tranny guy is telling me the stock rear end is weak and frequently
>>:|fails if mildly abused like this, and recommends a tougher aftermarket
>>:|rear end.
>
>
> are you talking about the entire rear axle or the actual differential
> itself?

Differential, with ring and pinion chipped, as well. Axles seem fine,
but they're relatively cheap!

> a 10 bolt is plenty strong for the applications it's used in.
> briefly spinning the tires and catching shouldn't break anything
> unless you've got it matted and go from ice to dry pavement ( i.e.
> being stupid)

Well, that's what I thought... I didn't have it flat open, but did
probably hit half throttle, as it was engaging. There was no ice (this
*is* California!), but it was slightly damp.

>
>>:|Is anyone familiar with this problem? Any suggestions as to what level
>>:|at GM I should try to take up the case for them to cover it? (58k miles
>>:|and over 36 months, of course.)
>
>
> good luck with that..
>

I know...
>
>>:|Right now, they've cleared out the broken bits and refilled the case
>>:|with oil, so I could drive it home and park it, until I can figure out
>>:|what to do - and come up with the $1800 he estimates... Think it's safe
>>:|to drive it on the front end alone, for a while?
>>:|
>>:|Dave
>
>
> they cleared out the broken bits? ok.. what exactly is keeping your
> axles in the housing then? I'd get it home and park it, don't drive
> w/ parts missing out of the rear, you need at least the axle spiders
> to properly space out the axles for the C clips and you'll need the
> cross pin to keep the axles from pushing in too far.
>
> -Bret

I believe it was the side spider gears that broke, and possibly
(probably) some or much of the limited slip hardware. Broken bits of
gears did the rest of the damage, in the first few seconds. Yes, I
simply got it home, and have it parked. No serious intention of driving
it in this condition. I haven't pulled the cover myself, but the shop
seems to know their business, and I assume left it a safe condition.

Dave