I got off work saturday and was driving home. i was accelerating normal not flooring it or nothin. and a loud pop happened and then a knocking noise. i thought i blew the motor so i pulled over. my oil was fine. so i turned my car back on and reved it up and no noise. but when i pulled away the knocking noise started again coming from my rear end. the faster i went the knocking got faster. i drove it home. and halfway home the noise quit. but every now and again there are sounds coming from the rear end knocking around. so today i took off the pack of the rear end and looked at it. the pics below show what i found. theres metal shaving on the magnet and i found metal pieces laying in there that are in my hand and metal teeth marks on the housing. the car still goes places i was driving earlier but i dont want to cause further damage. what do i need to replace i will go to pull aparts to get the parts. or would it be easier to just buy a new rear end. i need help i dont have much money and this is my car that gets me to work. what do u guys think i should do.

 

Metal shavings on the magnet is normal, but chunks of metal are not. That magnet and that gear oil look as if it hasn't been changed in a long time, so it was definitely overdue. Is there any chunks missing off the ring gear, the pinion gear, or any of the spider gears? Spin the carrier slowly if you can and look closely at every thing.

 

What's in your hand looks like it may be the end of the spider gear shaft keeper bolt (that small headed bolt at the bottom of the carrier). Not sure if it can weasel it's way out the back side if it snapped off the bolt, but the tips do sometimes snap off. You don't want to drive it like it is.
Or, that could be part of a roller bearing.

 

im not sure what the metal chunks were. i have it on ramps right now so i cant spin the tires. im try to get stands under it so i can see more tomorrow.

 

heres the pics.

 

ok i got it on stands so i can spin the tires. the gears looks fine there are no chips. but the shaft that goes from one spider gear to the other slips out. i pushed it with my finger and it came out the other end some. isnt there something thats supposed to hold it in? i think thats what the bang was then it got knocked back in. what do u guys think and how do u think i should fix it? theres pics of what i found above. thanks yall.

 

Called that one! The shaft that's slipping out is what I was referring to. You need a new shaft (it's ruined) and keeper bolt (the "pin" end of the bolt was in your hand). That's provided the hole in the carrier didn't get egged out.

 

thanks man ur alot of help. so when i go to pull a parts tomorrow i need the shaft and the carrier if its bad? is this a job i can do myself or will i need special tools?

 

Try to get that bolt out first, then the shaft, so you can evaluate the situation. The end of the broken bolt fit into the hole of the shaft, and is what's supposed to hold it in place. If that's all you need (no damage to the carrier) replacing those two things will be easy. But if you need to replace the carrier, you'll want to take it to someone who knows how to set up a rearend. Setting the bearing pre-loads and gear backlash wrong will make the rearend live a shorter life. If you do have to go that deep into it though, it'll likely be cheaper for you to pick up an entire rearend assembly from your pull a parts.

 

okay i got the bolt out. the damn thing striped on me but i got it out. i guess ill need a new one of those too. now how do i get the shaft out should it just pull out where the bolt was.