Rear Diff going bye, bye??

[marin8703]

Hey guys and gals.

Today while i was getting out of my garage the DIC and and some lights on the instrument cluster lit up like a ristmas tree. I got the engine light and the traction light on. Contacted onstar and they said that i got a big problem, even though she phrased it differently. On the DIC i got reduced engine power, traction failed, and stab system off.

I tried to figure out what may be wron and i came up with something. When shifting into Drive, and only into drive I get a grind or squeal (kinda combination) sound from the rear diff. What could be happening?

I remembered that someone was talking about some diffs coming out of the factory with something in the diff oil that causes premature wear, could that be it?

If that is it does it mean the rear diff has to be replaced or what?

Oh and here is the real question on my mind, currently i have a non locking diff, if they have to replace it under warranty, do you guys think I can pay the difference for a locking rear diff. This is a great opportinity to get a locking diff if possible. Is it possible???

I will take the truck into service tomorow and see what they say. Im not praying for a busted diff so that i can upgrade, but if its meant to be who am i to stop it.

What do you guys and gals think????
Thanks!!

[DDWH]

Originally Posted by marin8703

Hey guys and gals.

Today while i was getting out of my garage the DIC and and some lights on the instrument cluster lit up like a ristmas tree. I got the engine light and the traction light on. Contacted onstar and they said that i got a big problem, even though she phrased it differently. On the DIC i got reduced engine power, traction failed, and stab system off.

I tried to figure out what may be wron and i came up with something. When shifting into Drive, and only into drive I get a grind or squeal (kinda combination) sound from the rear diff. What could be happening?

I remembered that someone was talking about some diffs coming out of the factory with something in the diff oil that causes premature wear, could that be it?

If that is it does it mean the rear diff has to be replaced or what?

Oh and here is the real question on my mind, currently i have a non locking diff, if they have to replace it under warranty, do you guys think I can pay the difference for a locking rear diff. This is a great opportinity to get a locking diff if possible. Is it possible???

I will take the truck into service tomorow and see what they say. Im not praying for a busted diff so that i can upgrade, but if its meant to be who am i to stop it.

What do you guys and gals think????
Thanks!!

no dice, sorry....HI already tried getting a elocker swap from what I remember.

[Sewie]

That problem was only on early builds. Before August '05 I believe.

[HIHUMMER]

I was trying to get them to swap the WHOLE truck out...didn't work.

If the dealership says it is in fact the diff., I'd expect you to be out of your truck for at least 2 weeks. Contact GM and have them start a case for you. They bumped my warranty b/c of the issues I had. I'll shoot you a PM.

Good Luck.

[Mike E]

My front diff. blew out on me while off roading. Had it back with a brand new one in a day. Good luck!

[marin8703]

thanks for the help guys and gals, suck that i cant upgrade , but im happy with with the way it is, as long as its runnig well.

I beleive mine was built september of 05. Any other ideas on what it could be? It will probably take them a while to figure out whats wrong and even longer as hihummer said to actually fix it.

oh well, hope i get a good rental in the meantime, although nothing can be as good as my H3!!!!

[marin8703]

mike, they replaced/fixed it in a day???? Thats kinda fast???

[HIHUMMER]

My front blew out and I had it back in a day also, but my dealer took the new one off an H3 in the lot (once they decided that's what they would do instead of making me wait another 30days to get it ). The rear was shipped from the manufacture.

Ok..calming down before I get on my soap box.

[f5fstop]

From what you are telling me, either your entire diff is gone, locking up the drivertrain and causing problems up the line to the t/case, trans, engine, etc. or else it is a problem in the t/case. Reason I say that is off the top of my sleepy (early, not enough coffee) head, I can not think of any problems like you mentioned that would be signaled by the rear diff.
The standard rear diff has no PCM monitored circuits, but the T/case, trans, etc. sure do.
A grinding from the rear would make it sound like a rear diff, but a grinding from the rear could be coming from the t/case (sound is weird when it travels). However, if the rear diff is totally trashed it could cause problems up the line to the other components.
Keep us informed as to what the dealer says. The other problem with the lapping compound would cause the diff to get louder and louder until it failed. The compound basically ate the gears over a period of time.

[marin8703]

Dropped it off at the dealer this morning. havent heard from them yet, and probably wont hear anything til monday. Ill keep you guys posted on whats up. hopefully nothing much!

[Mike E]

As long as you are in warranty I wouldn't worry about it. GM has been standing behind the H3 really well and taking care of any issues that come up.

[f5fstop]

Originally Posted by Mike E

As long as you are in warranty I wouldn't worry about it. GM has been standing behind the H3 really well and taking care of any issues that come up.

[marin8703]

I just wanted to post the results of this, in case anyone is interested. After about 2 weeks of it being in the dealer, it turns out that all of the warning messages were caused by the throttle pedal sensor. As for the noise from teh back they said thats nothing.

Im thinking it not nothing, since it took them two weeks to figure out its a sensor. Wouldnt a sensor set a code, and be able to discover the sensor is bad like in 10 minutes or somethig.

They told me the sensor was installed the day after i droped it off, well actually the moday after i dropped it off, and they were keeping it just to check some other things out.

The whole situation is kida weird, but i didnt say anything to them. I still got a long way to got to the end of my warranty, so if anything goes wrong it will hopefully fall within the warranty period.

So after all, I cant get a locker put in, as i origionally planned.

[f5fstop]

TP sensor will set a code, and diagnostics could take a hour or two, depending on the code set.