Pretty Sure i Blew the crap outta my G80

ZZebes · August 20, 2006

Well me and my brillance decided to help a friend of mine out of a ditch yesterday, so i was hooked up and started pulling and it was kinda wet and my passenger side wheel slipped and then the locker tried to kick in and the wheel hooked up and then BAM a split second later the tire is spinning again. this is all before i even have a chance to think, so i got him out of the ditch and this morning i pulled my diff cover to investigate the problem and some little parts fell out and my diff is acting like an open diff, the carrier and gear is intact but what i think is the "governor" for the G80 came out with the fluid. i took it to my dealer and they said we will fix it under warranty but if the G80 is really that weak than is it worth having another one put in if it is just gonna grenade again. So i guess there is really no real question here but any input is appreciated and thanks for letting me rant.

pm26 · August 20, 2006

I use my 16,000 lb curb weight 6X6 deuce and a half for pulling jobs. Have not lost a differential or an axle yet.

Sorry about your differential. This should not have happened. I bet it would not happen on my 95 Nissan 4x4 V6 truck with a limited slip. I believe the differential/rear axle on that truck was beefier than the one on my '06 Z71. For one thing, it held 3 quarts of differential oil, vs 2.3 quarts in the Chevy. And the differential gears were possibly a little bigger too.

Don't blame yourself. You tried to do a good deed and help your friend. I would have done the same thing. I did not buy this '06 Chevy to look at, but use it. I bought it for towing and hauling. Now I am discovering that despite its size, it is a VERY light duty truck. Should have got a K 3500. But, my deuce and half will outpull any K3500. It happens to weigh twice as much. And you cannot beat the 6X6 traction (well, maybe with an 8x8).

And thanks for the warning: I have the G80 in my truck too, so I will keep in mind how weak it is.

Jansen · August 20, 2006

What type of road surface were you on?

Jansen

redvett · August 20, 2006

They are quite sturdy unit.

My question is if your truck is a 2006 why did you even open up the rear end? Is under warrenty for 3 years & 36000mi. :-0

RyanZ71 · August 20, 2006

Having had my G-80 go to hell and talked with people who have alot of expierence with the G-80, heres what is going on, the 99 NBS trucks got a newer G-80 that works differently then the older type. The service advisor stated that they are seeing more and more 99+ comming in with G-80 failure. The company they take it to for rebuild/replacement is also noticing a alot of G-80 failures. They are NOT as sturdy as some here believe. The older models were bulletproof and thats what they set me up with after mine went out driving down the highway with no notice at all. Just a loud POP/BANG then when I would make turns it would repeat that POP/BANG and it got worse. $1600 later I have an older type of G-80 in my truck and it's working just fine.

Yes yes I know there are some of you out there who have 200,000+ miles on your NBS truck with no problems at all. And I know there are some of you out there who work in large fleets of trucks that have G-80s in them with no problems at all, Count yourself lucky.

ZZebes · August 20, 2006

What type of road surface were you on?

Jansen

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It was OLD asphalt, but it was covered in wet muddy sand.

and the reason i opened it up is because i wanted to know what was going on in there and if there were little parts floating around in there i didin't want them to get caught in the Gears and do more damage

OnyxMAX · August 20, 2006

yep that little pin goes poof your busted. while designed to engage at 100 rpm difference with the power availble with these trucks 100 rpm flys by but the pin still tries to engage even at over 500 rpm difference and poof goes the pin.

the old e-brake trick is great for saveing any diff. apply just enough to get the spyders engaged and pow booth wheels turn like it was locked. thats basicly what the "new" ABLS does on some trucks the abs system is used to slow the spinning wheel and force to wheel with traction to turn. allowing a much cheeper open diff to be used but still provide limited slip traction.

i will say it's nice to have the g80 kind saved my bum yesterday. the local state park has 2 lakes in the ORV area. one lake is fairly hardpacked trail. the other is surounded by sand (i didn't know that) driving along at 15mph and then steering gets real light. then my rpm beging to climb but my speed starts to drop, and i get that sinking feelin' then i feel the shudder of the g80 and foward progress continues uneventfully.

i know someday that will happen and it will go poof. hopefully thats not for a while.

redvett · August 20, 2006

What type of road surface were you on?

Jansen

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It was OLD asphalt, but it was covered in wet muddy sand.

and the reason i opened it up is because i wanted to know what was going on in there and if there were little parts floating around in there i didin't want them to get caught in the Gears and do more damage

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They would have to put all new parts in then. I am suprised they didnt complain about you opening it up and refusing to repair it. That has happened before. Should have just called GM road service and had it towed.

dewfpo · August 20, 2006

I'm not a metalurgist but there ought to be a stronger pin they could put in there that would be more stout. Unless they want it to break so that you save the u-joints, etc..... and can get home (after being pulled out).

DEWFPO

pm26 · August 21, 2006

I'm not a metalurgist but there ought to be a stronger pin they could put in there that would be more stout. Unless they want it to break so that you save the u-joints, etc..... and can get home (after being pulled out).

DEWFPO

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It could be made deliberately weak to serve as a sacrificial part.