Hi guys this is my first post for my 95 safari SLX 2wd passenger van with 164K 3:42 open diff. I bought this van from my father recently. He purchased it with 50K on it in 97 and me and my father maintained it VERY well profssionally rebuilt trans scheduled maintenence ETC. When he bought it it had a noise in the rear end that the dealership said was normal and would not fix. The van makes a kind of low grumble right when the touque converter lockup kicks in at about 40 and gradualy goes away when you hit about 45MPH It had always made this noise without getting any worse for the last 110K miles. Now that i have been using it for my daily driver the pinion seal started to leak (badly) to the point that i am noticing small spots of rear end lube on the rear windows after going 75 on the interstate. and between 60-70 the rear end seems to shake badly kind of like a flat tire. Which is the problem i want to address. the low grumble between 40-45 has not gotten any worse though. I asked my father about it and took him for a drive and he told me he never had a wobble or shake from the rear at interstate speeds or at least a noticable one like it has now. One of the wheel bearing seals has had a slight leak ever since the van had 50K on it with no adverse effects. But since replacing the rear drums I pulled them off to check the adjustment and noticed one was glazed over (Not on the leaky side). Why i have no idea.
Heres what ive done so far.
rear drums and shoes have been replaced and pivots lubed. E-brake cable is fuly operational and not sticking.
Fluid is checked regularly and topped off as needed.
New tires a year ago
Had the tires check for balance and bent rims- both are perfectly fine.
Even put the rear end up on stands and watched them spin.
Drivers side wheel bearing makes a horrible noise while in the air and some noise from the carrier.
Both tires seem to spin almost perfeclty round but the drivers side is a little and i mean just a little bit wobbly
While spinning in the air.
I do know the pinion bearing is most likley bad. But would that cause the rear end to wobble and shake between 60-75MPH?
I dont believe there is any way the rear axle shafts /housing should be bent knowing what my father used the van for ever since he bought it. He took very good care of it and never hit a single curb he says nor has it been over loaded.
The symptoms that i have tell me i have EXTREMELY bad bearing play. A bent housing/axle( highly unlikley) Or somehow the rear drums are contacting the shoes while driving in combination with bad gears/bearings giving it a bad shake
I believe i am going to have all of the rear bearings and seals replaced within the next month. If worse comes to worse and the gears are shot I have a good used GM 3:42 spare ring and pinion gear from my 83 monte carlo's 7.5 from when i upgraded its rear end. I was told these are the same gear sets and are inter-changable.
Any suggestions????
Heres what ive done so far.
rear drums and shoes have been replaced and pivots lubed. E-brake cable is fuly operational and not sticking.
Fluid is checked regularly and topped off as needed.
New tires a year ago
Had the tires check for balance and bent rims- both are perfectly fine.
Even put the rear end up on stands and watched them spin.
Drivers side wheel bearing makes a horrible noise while in the air and some noise from the carrier.
Both tires seem to spin almost perfeclty round but the drivers side is a little and i mean just a little bit wobbly
While spinning in the air.
I do know the pinion bearing is most likley bad. But would that cause the rear end to wobble and shake between 60-75MPH?
I dont believe there is any way the rear axle shafts /housing should be bent knowing what my father used the van for ever since he bought it. He took very good care of it and never hit a single curb he says nor has it been over loaded.
The symptoms that i have tell me i have EXTREMELY bad bearing play. A bent housing/axle( highly unlikley) Or somehow the rear drums are contacting the shoes while driving in combination with bad gears/bearings giving it a bad shake
I believe i am going to have all of the rear bearings and seals replaced within the next month. If worse comes to worse and the gears are shot I have a good used GM 3:42 spare ring and pinion gear from my 83 monte carlo's 7.5 from when i upgraded its rear end. I was told these are the same gear sets and are inter-changable.
Any suggestions????