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84 M1009 Rear Diff Issues

Winston Smith206

New member
10
9
3
Location
West Seattle
Hello Gents,

While coming down from the mountains in 4WD I began to hear a loud grinding noise on deacceleration coming from the rear end. When I was accelerating the noise went away. I took it out of 4WD but the noise persisted. As I was turning a corner the drive line shot out of the rear diff. I crawled under and placed the drive line back into the diff by hand and the truck moved on its own power but persisted to have the noise when deaccelerating.

I drove to my local shop who said it needs an entire new or rebuilt drive line and diff with a quote of $5000. I don't have that kind of money to put into it but I love the truck and don't want to junk it. I'm not super mechanically inclined but am willing to give anything a shot if it means keeping this girl on the road.

Any advice would be much appreciated.
 

Skinny

Well-known member
2,130
488
83
Location
Portsmouth, NH
Find a new shop...

Even rebuilding what you have shouldn't cost more then a grand, maybe $1500 if you get a real diff.

A used 10 bolt is practically free because no one wants them and maybe a few hours labor to swap.

You are being swindled by a lot. You should go back and maybe punch them in the throat.

If you wheel now would be a good time to upgrade to something better like a 14 semifloat or go eight lug with a fullfloat.
 

cucvrus

Well-known member
11,473
10,433
113
Location
Jonestown Pennsylvania
Just let the old brake lines attached to the axle and make new ones. I am sure if they have to be soaked, they are scrap anyway. Get the new brake hose from frame to axle and form new metal lines from 3/16" tubing. Let me know. I am in Jonestown PA 17038.
 

cucvmule

collector of stuff
1,155
591
113
Location
Crystal City Mo
Nothing wrong with buying all new product if you have the coin, but why if you do not need to. Myself if I can use the original equipment why not? Having to judge what is still good to reuse is only but observation. Why spend coin if the original equipment is perfectly fine?

The protected shielded spring guard brake line is there for a reason. And if I need to find a good replacement to the salvage yard I go.

In rust belt brake lines, rubber hoses may only last twenty years. In the desert may last a lifetime. Anytime brake fluid is involved corrosion is a problem.

And bending hardline is not for novice beginners. And using old line for a pattern is advised, so do not just bend up and scrap, waste something that has a final use.
 

faststandard

Member
42
50
18
Location
Birch Run/MI
Look up Inline Tube on the net. They are based in Michigan and offer CNC pre-bent brake lines for many vehicle including the M1009/K5 Blazer in both steel and stainless steel. This is the route I went on my son's truck and it worked out great and it was far from cost prohibitive. They even go so far as to include the armor wrap that is used on the stock lines.
 

79Vette

Active member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
117
119
43
Location
Los Angeles/CA
Hello Gents,

While coming down from the mountains in 4WD I began to hear a loud grinding noise on deacceleration coming from the rear end. When I was accelerating the noise went away. I took it out of 4WD but the noise persisted. As I was turning a corner the drive line shot out of the rear diff.
...
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Sounds like the pinion nut backed off, and you kept driving. Applying throttle forces the pinion outward into the housing, and letting off the throttle sucks it inward. A correctly torqued pinion nut counteracts the load on deceleration, and when it loosens the gears come out of mesh and start to grind.

Depending how long you drove it, you might need gears/bearings and a new carrier, or you might be able to just get away with replacing the lock nut and crush sleeve. This happened to my 1009 a couple years ago, and by the time I got off the highway the pinion gear had chewed up the carrier pretty badly. Fortunately there were only a few chips on the pinion teeth and I didn't want to rebuild the axle, so I just tightened the nut up with a new crush sleeve and drove it for another 5k miles.

Pull your diff cover and post pictures of what's inside, and also of the yoke/driveshaft and we can advise how to proceed.

If there is serious damage, swapping the axle is a day of work if everything is rusted. Probably a few hours if it comes apart nicely. I just sold a CUCV 10 bolt rear for $125 in L.A., and it took months to find a buyer. They are out there, and cheap due to low demand.

Alternatively, an axle rebuild is not challenging though you do need some specialty tools. But if your gears aren't missing teeth and the carrier isn't broken, you can possibly cobble it back together to run for a bit while you collect the tools for a rebuild (or money to pay someone to do it)
 
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cucvrus

Well-known member
11,473
10,433
113
Location
Jonestown Pennsylvania
As long as your ring and pinion are good I was going to suggest an Eaton locker. It will need 30 spline axle shafts but repairing what you have will be 1/2 that cost. I have a almost new center spool from a 1991 K5. That is why the I mentioned it. Good Luck.
Getting it set up in the rear and properly adjusted is the hardest part. No guess work when it comes to gear adjustment.
 
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