popping noise in rear

tyleryates · October 7, 2015

A popping noise has just started in the rear of the truck and is most noticeable when going slow, as in under 20-15 MPH. Thinking it could be the rear differential so I'm going to clean that out and throw some new fluids in there. Any other ideas on what it could be?

anumber1 · October 13, 2015

If it's the g80, (limited slip) it's probably a problem.

Those units seem to fail pretty regularly, breaking teeth and locking up.

00Silverado4x4 · October 14, 2015

If you're getting popping noise, I'd have my doubts that new fluid is going to fix it. I'd take it some place that is knowledgeable to open it up and do a through inspection. That is unless you're going to do it yourself. I personally don't know what I'm doing in there so I'd have to take it in.

BlackZ71Silverado · October 16, 2015

If it's the g80, (limited slip) it's probably a problem.

Those units seem to fail pretty regularly, breaking teeth and locking up.

Really?

I've had the Eaton G80 Locking Differential in every GM truck and SUV I have ever owned and never had an issue with the rear end. I abused my lifted ZR2 Blazer and never had any issues with the rear end.

What were you doing when yours broke gear teeth and then locked up? How many miles on the truck and was it maintained properly?

They do break but that's usually from people who pound the crap out of their trucks and don't understand how the G80 locking differential works.....Interested to hear how you ended up breaking gear teeth and having your rear end lock up on you.

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anumber1 · October 16, 2015

Well, I have been involved in 3 G80 failures. My 99, the FIL's 2001 and my BIL's 2000.

Mine failed at 150k miles, shearing a spider gear shaft and locking up at speed on the highway.

The FIL's failed at 125k miles in a similar fashion.

The BIL's failed at 80k due to abuse (excessive burnouts, excessive towing loads).

Mine was well maintained and gave no indication of impending failure. My father in laws had more than likely never been serviced.

I replaced mine with a freshened up junkyard unit, 75k miles ago.

Nanotech Environmental · December 17, 2015

Really?

I've had the Eaton G80 Locking Differential in every GM truck and SUV I have ever owned and never had an issue with the rear end. I abused my lifted ZR2 Blazer and never had any issues with the rear end.

What were you doing when yours broke gear teeth and then locked up? How many miles on the truck and was it maintained properly?

They do break but that's usually from people who pound the crap out of their trucks and don't understand how the G80 locking differential works.....Interested to hear how you ended up breaking gear teeth and having your rear end lock up on you.

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Regardless of your experience or viewpoint, the G80 is an incredibly poor design for widespread real world use.

The design looks cool on paper, but creates waaay to many shockloads for the units to survive consistently in the real world. It also doesn't account for the inconsistencies in materials, manufacturing or assembly, which can make the difference between a unit that survives, or one that grenades...Furthermore the design doesn't even work well in real world use, as there are piles of accounts written about how theses units often don't work when they're supposed to. Mine rarely did, even after warranty repairs on it.

Units like the Truetrac are much simpler and way more reliable.

Badass69 · December 17, 2015

Yup... someone that gets it and understands what shockload is. Watch how the stupid thing engages and you see exactly why they fail. Generally you tear the teeth off the locking plate or break the fairly fragile cam they call a pawl that engages it. You don't need to abuse it to do it either.... basically they work great for people that could drive around with an open rear end and have no real issues. The thing was a pile of junk when it was first used in GM trucks 43 years ago and still is today.

The 10 bolt is a fragile piece to begin with accounting for how small the parts in it are. If it's popping something is trying to engage and then releasing. Probably damage to the pawl and fly weight. Pull the rear cover and take a look... you never know. When you refill it just use straight gear oil with no limited slip additives.... that just causes more engagement problems. I can't wait for a Detroit Locker to come out for the 9.76" so I can dump mine.

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Tattooo · December 17, 2015

A popping noise has just started in the rear of the truck and is most noticeable when going slow, as in under 20-15 MPH. Thinking it could be the rear differential so I'm going to clean that out and throw some new fluids in there. Any other ideas on what it could be?

I had the same problem on my 14 All terrain....they changed the entire rear, leaf springs, driveshaft etc etc....after 2 months not being to find or fix it with a GM engineer they bought it back & I got a 16 All terrain SLT