Alright so for the last month there has been a new sound in the car. As I drive there has been a sound in the cabin that i can hear. It started out really subtle so i thought it was just my old tires since they were pretty worn down, but now I have brand new tires and the sound has only gotten steadily worse. It is a kind of steady thumping sound which as long as I am moving is always there, it increases with the tire speed but has nothing to do with which gear I'm in or RPM's.

I was finally able to climb under it today and with the front jacked up I spin a wheel and there is about 15 degrees of play before the other wheel locks in. I crawled under and listened around for the clunk and i can hear that it is coming from the transmission.

So the only thing that makes sense to me would be the differential, but Im not well versed with transmissions so this is just a guess. Any advice on whether or not this could be the problem, or is it something else. For the record I don't feel the transmission slip, and it shifts fine if im not on the power. If im accelerating hard and it shifts though it slams really hard.

Any help is greatly appreciated, and I would like to be fairly sure before I pull the pan and have my car down without the things to fix it yet.

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-Austin-
1988 LE, Intercooled L67 loading......

2000 SSEi R.I.P. Dead now :( INTENSE FWI, polished LIM, P&P supercharger, custom radiator, standalone trans cooler, trans-go shift kit (donating to the 88)

2002 2500HD Silverado with the 8.1 Vortec and Alison tranny. Likes to eat GT Mustangs and lots of tires, and all while stock!

Dropping the pan will not do any good if it is the differential. The offset of 15* you are feeling sounds about right for the diff to lock.

Can you put it on jack stands (for safety) and have someone put it in gear and see if the noise is there and if so, where does it seem to come from. The diff is located just to the right of the centerline, just below the back of the motor. I do not recommend getting under the car while it is running and in gear. You can give it a little gas, but don't get rev happy.

You will also want to check all the suspension components for wear and tightness. Rotate the tires in neutral and see if there are any noises and then try to lift the tire up and down to check the hubs.

Have you been doing any wheel spinning? Especially in turns or on corners.

Well to be honest there has been some wheel spinning recently. Me an some friends were in a parkin lot and there was a bet..... Good news is i won the bet, bad news brobably messed up my car.

_________________

-Austin-
1988 LE, Intercooled L67 loading......

2000 SSEi R.I.P. Dead now :( INTENSE FWI, polished LIM, P&P supercharger, custom radiator, standalone trans cooler, trans-go shift kit (donating to the 88)

2002 2500HD Silverado with the 8.1 Vortec and Alison tranny. Likes to eat GT Mustangs and lots of tires, and all while stock!

Just went out and looked under the front and noticed the drivers side, closest to the wheel cv boot is bad. One of the clamps has ripped the rubber so there isn't a good seal anymore, but i don't see any leaks.....then again I know my dad never did any general maintenance things before it was mine.

So could that joint be worn or could it just need greased, and if it fails what can happen? Also thanks for the help so far.

_________________

-Austin-
1988 LE, Intercooled L67 loading......

2000 SSEi R.I.P. Dead now :( INTENSE FWI, polished LIM, P&P supercharger, custom radiator, standalone trans cooler, trans-go shift kit (donating to the 88)

2002 2500HD Silverado with the 8.1 Vortec and Alison tranny. Likes to eat GT Mustangs and lots of tires, and all while stock!