Topic: Just a few questions.

[Twisted]

Well I have been searching through previous post for almost two hours now and i still can find the answers I'm looking for and was hoping someone could help me out. 

Here is a little info about my rig that may help you, help me:
'86 extra cab, sas, 5.29s, TrueTracks fnt and rear(or at least i think so) duel cases

OK, the worst of my problems i think, is that I have metal shavings in the rear diff. The shavings are really fine, almost like sand.  The reason i checked the fluid in the first place was because, i was turning around in my drive way in double low with the hubs locked when i heard a cracking/popping sound.  So i started at the front of my truck, checking all the joints that i could think of, all of them seemed ok.  So i looked elsewere, i disconnected the rear drive shaft,jacked the front end off the ground, locked the hubs and turned the wheel, no clicking( this will relate to another question though) I then jacked up the rear put it gear and listened. there was a metal on metal scuffing sound in the brake drum area on both sides and a minor ticking when i listened to the area by the third member.  But nothing that sounded like it was making as metal shavings . Does anyone have any ideas as to what may be making them. 

My next question is regarding the TrueTracs.  When the front end was jacked up, the rear drive shaft disconnected, and my wheel at full lock( so one tire was again touching the ground) the opposite tire would just keep spinning, is this normal?  The same is true with the rear end. All i had to do was put a piece of wood if front a one of the tires and it would stop and the other tire would just keep going. this does not make sense to me.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Twisted [OP]]

nothing?

[rage]

you probably need rear axle bearings, and a good prayer for the rear diff which you might just leave alone to see if time will tell. and the second question: i may be mis understanding you, but i think you have an open front differential. and i have no idea what the popping noise was.

[fordh8r]

Well, to start with, you should never run the vehicle on hard tractable surfaces in 4wd with the hubs locked. That was or could be the start of some very unwanted problems. The reason being that, while you are turning, each wheel is wanting to turn at a different rate of speed and will cause the drivetrain to bind . Even going straight can be bad unless all four tires are exactly the same size by tread wear and inflation which is nearly impossible to achieve and hardly worth the effort since you do have a 2wd option. I hope the cracking/popping noise you heard wasn't your birfs letting go considering your gear ratio and assuming you have large tires.

If I'm correct the tru-trac unit is a gear driven limited slip differential which will allows limited differentiation of wheel speed per axle in a turn and will only engage at a certain speed durnig wheel slip. I'm not familiar enough with that unit to know of a way to statically check it other than to remove it and see, someone else here may be able to provide that info. If anything, it will also cure your curiosity for whats actually in the rear end and whether or not there is any damage. You say the size of debris is about the size of sand or could it be more like a dark wet powder? If it is more like powder and no real chunks can be felt between your fingers as you rub them together than I would say this is normal wear from the gears and not be worried about it. Anything bigger could be reason for concern especially if you start to hear unusual noises. Also did you buy this truck like this? Were you told it had these diff's in it? Is this why you're not sure about the tru-trac's?

As far as your rear end goes it sounds like the brake adjustment is causing the brakes shoes to lightly rub on the brake drum as you turn the wheels, this is perfectly normal! The ticking noise could easily have been the diff side gears as they walk around while turning the wheels, also normal. Hope this sheds some light on what you're looking for.

[Twisted [OP]]

Yes, when i purchased the truck i was told it had truetracs, they have always engaged on all my other wheeling trips. Thats why i was asking if that was normal for them to act that way not under a load, i thought that may be starting to wear to much causing the noises or metal shavings?

And i do not belive it was the birfeilds up front, i had just rebuild the front end less then a month ago and they looked in good shape, so i hope thats not the case. As for the gear oil, it did not feel like it had any chunks, i knew that i should expectsome, but with as much as was there (both the fuild level check plug and the drain plug were covered) and the odd noise i was concerned.  Thank you for helping me under stand what is normal and what is not.

[fordh8r]

glad to help as anyone here would be. Hope to help relieve some concerns with the info provided.