That dreaded metal on metal sound - Page 3

REDOVAL · 04-13-2017, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jsweezy

I'm happy to hear your going to be taken care of. I was bummed to see that Randy's was giving someone a hard time as I thought they were supposed to be THE axle place.

Haha, "the axle place" told me a Dana 60 semi float 35 spline axle assy had no c-clips either. They then proceeded to tell me it was impossible to install a Spartan locker in that carrier, period. I must be a magician then because I have had one in my van for nearly two years...

Scott

arctictraveller · 04-13-2017, 03:48 PM

I'm a little surprised that some of the folks in the shop seem to be less experienced than you would expect for a company that does nothing other than differentials, and has been in business for so many years. The customer service manager I finally talked to was what I would consider to be an expert in the field. He spent five years in the shop as a mechanic, then was the service manager prior to moving into management 14 years ago. He had the specs for a Dana 60 memorized, and said anything over .020 axle end play would be considered excessive. The service manager on the other hand, wouldn't give me a number,(since he obvously didn't know) he simply said I'm sure it's OK. No doubt it's really hard to find and keep good mechanics just like in any other business, but you have to stand behind your work. I refused to give up and fortunately I was able to get in contact with someone who had a vested interest in keeping the companys reputation intact.

rallypanam · 04-13-2017, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

He had the specs for a Dana 60 memorized, and said anything over .020 axle end play would be considered excessive.

And yours is?

arctictraveller · 04-13-2017, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rallypanam

And yours is?

The end play seems to be be about .040, nearly double the max quoted by the Customer service manager. Meanwhile, today I ordered a set of Power stop slotted rotors and matching pads from Summit. They were the only ones who had them in stock, and othey offered free shipping as well. They didn't have calipers in stock though, but Napa did, so I picked those up, and a set of parking brake shoes too. Hopefully I'll get all the parts in time to put it together and take it to get the diff fixed before I have to head back to Alaska on the 22nd.

arctictraveller · 10-20-2017, 11:06 AM

Another follow up, seems to be that kind of day for me. Anyway, after installing all new calipers, rotors, parking brake shoes, and freeing up all the rusted adjusters, I made an appointment at Randys and took the van in to have the pinion seal replaced and the end play addressed. When I got it back, I had a new seal, and a message that the end play was fine. When I asked how much they measured, I was told it was a bit over .030 Well despite the manager telling me that .020 was the max, it was late and with a long drive ahead I left. I've been a machinest my entire life, and I know how to use a dial indicator, so how they got a different reading than I did is a mystery, but I've now put a few thousand miles on the new seal and so far, no leaks or bad noises. I'll check the end play again next time I have the wheels off.

TomsBeast · 10-30-2017, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

...When I got it back, I had a new seal, and a message that the end play was fine. When I asked how much they measured, I was told it was a bit over .030 Well despite the manager telling me that .020 was the max, it was late and with a long drive ahead I left. I've been a machinest my entire life, and I know how to use a dial indicator, so how they got a different reading than I did is a mystery...

Most mechanic's don't even own a dial indicator, let alone know how to use one properly. Oh they'll quote numbers, but the mag base was wobbly, indicator sticks, they have a metric one and don't know how to convert, blah blah blah