Limited Slip bad, options?

[DCTUNDRA]

Several months ago I responded to another thread inquiring about how a LSD should work. I stated that I didn't think mine was working properly as I could see one tire only spinning on icy, level, ground. Recently, my truck started to develop a noise that I thought might be a bad front wheel bearing. I removed both front tires and calipers and attempted to find a bad or noisy bearing. Nothing!, the front end seemed to check out fine.

Tonight I jacked up the rear axle and put jack stands on either side and the big floor jack in the middle. Ran it up to about 40mph and could hear the noise I had been chasing. The wife said it seemed louder in the left rear, so I removed that wheel and brake drum. Looked for any evidence of brake drum rubbing and rotated a pulled on the axle. The axle had a little end play, but didn't seem all that bad, rotation seemed smooth. I bead-blasted the inside perimeter of the brake drum and cleaned up the brakes and backing plate. Put it all back together and the noise seemed just like before. This time I put the wife in the truck and got her to hold a steady 45mph while I crawled underneath the center area from the rear bumper. I put my hand on the rear of the axle housing near the differential and could feel that is where the noise and vibration was coming from.

So here is where I am. A LSD that doesn't seem to be performing properly and is producing a very faint "wop, wop, wop" that seems to be getting louder and more steady. A slight vibration can be felt in the floorboards as well. I suspect one or more bearings and faulty LSD clutches. Do I go to the dealer and say "fix it", do I find a TRD component that is likely better, is it the bearings and clutches or a whole new differential?

What say you forum members?

[Tundra_Hick]

Originally Posted by DCTUNDRA

Several months ago I responded to another thread inquiring about how a LSD should work. I stated that I didn't think mine was working properly as I could see one tire only spinning on icy, level, ground. Recently, my truck started to develop a noise that I thought might be a bad front wheel bearing. I removed both front tires and calipers and attempted to find a bad or noisy bearing. Nothing!, the front end seemed to check out fine.

Tonight I jacked up the rear axle and put jack stands on either side and the big floor jack in the middle. Ran it up to about 40mph and could hear the noise I had been chasing. The wife said it seemed louder in the left rear, so I removed that wheel and brake drum. Looked for any evidence of brake drum rubbing and rotated a pulled on the axle. The axle had a little end play, but didn't seem all that bad, rotation seemed smooth. I bead-blasted the inside perimeter of the brake drum and cleaned up the brakes and backing plate. Put it all back together and the noise seemed just like before. This time I put the wife in the truck and got her to hold a steady 45mph while I crawled underneath the center area from the rear bumper. I put my hand on the rear of the axle housing near the differential and could feel that is where the noise and vibration was coming from.

So here is where I am. A LSD that doesn't seem to be performing properly and is producing a very faint "wop, wop, wop" that seems to be getting louder and more steady. A slight vibration can be felt in the floorboards as well. I suspect one or more bearings and faulty LSD clutches. Do I go to the dealer and say "fix it", do I find a TRD component that is likely better, is it the bearings and clutches or a whole new differential?

What say you forum members?

If its still under warranty, I'd say have the dealer fix it, that's what warranty is for.

[DCTUNDRA]

No, it's not under warranty. It is a 2004 DoubleCab with 81,000 miles. I must admit, I'm kind of disappointed. This kind of failure is ridiculous, especially on a vehicle that is the "Top of the Line" form a manufacturer that is supposed to have perfected "quality" and redefined manufacturing.

Clicking on one of the 25% off ads from a dealer here on the forum shows that I can buy a new carrier assembly for around $1,650 after the discount plus another couple hundred for shipping. Same dealer says they can sell me a TRD with a 3.91 ratio for $650 exchange ($450 core) and $228 shipping. All seems kind of high when you can buy a TRD carrier for $299 and another $250 for the install kit (this assumes your ring and pinion are still good). I can do the work, been working on cars and trucks all my life (now 56 years old), put myself thru college working part time as a mechanic. Don't know if I feel like expending the effort. Sometimes easier to pay and not fool with it. I think what would be ideal, would be to find a specialty shop that does this sort of work all the time and could offer me several choices of LSD's for a reasonable fee. I don't know of any such shops at all, let alone within a reasonable drive of Dayton, Oh.

[peteyc20]

Don't freak out just yet. LSD's work by using clutch plates to engage the gears/mechanism that controls power to left/right side.

These clutch plates will wear just like any clutch depending on how much use they've had. 80k seems pretty early, but the point is if it's just clutch plates rubbing and wearing...the parts you hear making noises may very liekly be parts that are designed to be replaced.

LSD's have been around since the 60's. Don't start assuming you need to replace entire gear sets and major parts just yet. If you don't feel comfortable yourself it wouldn't take an expert/special mechanic a few mins to poke inside and take a look to find the problem.

I don't have any personal experience working on the Toys LSD (my '05 TRD DC is too new), so I can't tell you firsthand if it's expecially weak or strong, but I wouldn't be too worried about it until you know for sure what the problem is.