[align=left]I have a 1979 camaro thats rearend starts smoking and theres a wierd smell. I was thinking it was the differential. Does anyone know wwhat it could be? thanks.
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exhaust?

if ur rear is smoking u have problems..... there shouldnt be anywhere for gases to escape, and no place for gases to come from... It should be sealed. Pull you differential cover off and see if there is any fluid in there.

 

There may be a vent on top the diff but I would never imagine one smoking. Maybe your brakes are locking up and dragging.

 

[X(] i cant say as ive ever seen a differential problem bad enough to cause smoke and not have ALOT of noise associated with it. my guess is an axle bearing has taken a **** and soaked a brake shoe swelling it up and dragging. this will cause heat through friction and then smoke and yes if youve never smelled burning 90 wt. it do stink something awful. id start by making sure your parking brake is off and not dragging (cables can seize causing brakes to be on all the time, brakes smell awful too when left on). jack up back end and make sure the tires rotate freely,dont forget it needs to be in neutral. if your stuff no go roundy round youll need to start disassembly to find out why kurt

 

thats what I was thinking.
with what is all in a diff, if its rubbing enough to make smoke and burn off some fluid, you would notice other problems as well. and I still think that if the gas is escaping you wont have any fluid in there anyways

 

ALL differentials have a vent hose or vent system. as the diff warms up and cools down air has to be able move freely in and out to compensate for air volume associted with temp changes. if you didnt the increased pressure of a warm or hot diff would start forcing fluid out the seals. as for vaporizing enough 90 wt to leave the diff dry ive never seen that, and i guarantee you will have associated noises etc should this even come close to a possibility. 90 wt as a general rule does not vaporize unless extremely hot and certainly not anywhere near the temps the diff generates even on a bad day. if your vehicles petroleum fluids are disappearing its not from vaporization they're leaking somewhere kurt