Rear end is shot. Anyone have suggestions??

[exline]

i agree. it is normal for you to be able to stop one tire while the other can turn . I have never heard of a rear end slipping , there is nothing to slip. if it is slipping then that would have to be the gears slipping and that would make an awful noise!
I would bet anything that it is the transmission. the automatic transmission will slip when it goes bad or is low on fluid and only when you give it a lot of gas it starts to move. did you check the transmission fluid while the motor was running?

[DavidWymore]

Hot idling in neutral I think.

If it's low, it might spin the driveshaft, or tires and wheels in the air, but won't have enough to move the truck without a lot of RPM.

[BBAIL]

Stevo - Here's your plan... Grab a partner, one of you in the truck and the other looking under at the driveshaft, person in cab has brake pedal firmly pressed and gives a decent amount of throttle input (for a very short time), the other calls out if the driveshaft is moving at all.

If the driveshaft is spinning and the tires aren't, you have a problem in the rear-end. I would suspect a broken axle shaft or stripped splines on an axle shaft if so. Possibly a broken pinion in the center section. Usually you'll hear these types of things though so I think that's why everyone is hesitant to say it's the rear-end (myself included)...

If the driveshaft does not move with brakes fully applied and a good amount of throttle input then you're back to the transmission as others have stated.

[dodgeboykim]

Have you tried to stop the drive shaft.

[Stevenow]

Hmmmm, thanks guys, lots of testing to do Friday afternoon. I'll let you know! Lots to try, I am learning so much here!

THANKS!!!!!!!!!

[soopernaut]

When I had my frame donor truck with the 8 3/8 axle, there was an undiagnosed internal axle problem. I had the rear brakes off and the wheels would not spin by hand. It did drive and didn't make any excessive noise. I ended up scrapping it after the frame splice.

[1meanswepty]

Either your brakes are hung up and you are trying to power through them or your trans is slipping like a mother. Just because it seems to operate normally with the drive axle off the ground doesn't mean that it is not slipping when it is trying to propel a heavy truck. Are engine RPMs high when you are giving it throttle with the rear on the ground? Is it lugging down? The only other thing it could be is a wheel bearing is froze up on whichever axleshaft you didn't mention was spinning freely. Like already said, major loud crunching/ whining/ grinding noises accompany differential/ axle failure. Before you go know for sure where to start, it might not hurt to have a reputable shop diagnose it for you. Try a general repair shop, they might be less likely to try to sell you a tranny rebuild right off the bat.

[Roxyflash]

I have stripped both axle shaft spline on a stupid speed bump.Went from first to second was dark had it floored went airborne when I landed stripped both splines.Takes a whole hour to completely pull both axles and pumpkin to inspect the whole works

[menefreghista762]

Hot idling in neutral I think.

If it's low, it might spin the driveshaft, or tires and wheels in the air, but won't have enough to move the truck without a lot of RPM.

yeah, what he said............. transmission

[Stevenow]

I'll verify tomorrow, but we actually tried to stop the driveshaft, and no dice. Speeds up when I rev it, rear end does NOTHING until it really revs, then slowly turns, but will not turn fast at all. Will check again tomorrow to be sure. I'm 90% sure it's NOT the transmission.......but I've been wrong before!

Thanks all! Updates in the AM!

Stevo

[Stevenow]

Methinks the board here knoweth much!!!! I'll be damned, it was the tranny! Fluid leaked out due to a bad gasket, so I replaced the transmission pan gasket, and will refill in the morning. I was also reading the level COLD, instead of at idle....dumb me! Cheap fix it should be! Also got the fan belt tightened, no more squeak there. Since I have no seats (5 gallon bucket gives me BUCKET seats!), my friend gave me a boat seat, which fits perfect! Will bolt it in manana!

My ASE certified neighbor just got home from Seattle, and tells me- good job- you got it running, but it's missing on two cylinders!

Next project....

Thanks,

Stevo

[dodgeboykim]

Blown head gasket/burnt exhaust/intake valve or the scourge of many. Plug wires mixed up.

[Stevenow]

Blown head gasket/burnt exhaust/intake valve or the scourge of many. Plug wires mixed up.

Thanks for getting back! I think the head gaskets are in good shape- but a valve is a real possibility. Compression test?

[CSS-Registry]

Blown head gasket/burnt exhaust/intake valve or the scourge of many. Plug wires mixed up.

Thanks for getting back! I think the head gaskets are in good shape- but a valve is a real possibility. Compression test?

do the easy stuff first - check your wires for burn through, double check fire order, see if the plugs are fowling out, then do a compression test. be sure to write down the numbers as you go. if two cylinder are down next to each other it could be a bad head gasket between them.

more often than not it is the silly stuff that makes old cars run bad.

you could just as easily have a crack in your distributor cap.

Ben

[dodgeboykim]

I lean to mixed up wires.

[BBAIL]

After you rule out mixed up plug wires you can always do an RPM test to find the dead cylinder.

Here's what you do: Buy or borrow a tachometer and temporarily hook it up, have the engine running then pull a plug wire and note how much the RPM drops, put the plug wire back on and move to the next cylinder doing the same and noting the RPM drop for every cylinder. When you find the one that didn't drop at all or far less than the rest when the plug wire was pulled then you've isolated your dead cylinder and can diagnose further from there. I know some engines you can actually hear/feel the difference enough to know the dead cylinder without having a tachometer hooked up but I've never personally done it.

Of course using this method your problem still could be plug or plug wire related but you know which cylinder to focus your diagnosis on.

Hope that helps you out.

[BBAIL]

Also if you're really lucky you may just find your problem when you go to pull the plug wire off with the engine running.... Sometimes you'll grab the plug wire and find that there's a crack in the sheathing and get a very nice shock that sends you jumping and your head hitting the hood. Ask me how I know

[dodgeboykim]

Sometimes you'll grab the plug wire and find that there's a crack in the sheathing and get a very nice shock that sends you jumping and your head hitting the hood. Ask me how I know

Numb arm and a buzzing sound in your head.

[DavidWymore]

Points ignition ain't bad as far as getting shocked....high energy ignition = YEOW! I got myself with a Jacobs Ignition high performance kit on my J33P years ago. Both arms and chest ached for days.

[Stevenow]

Points ignition ain't bad as far as getting shocked....high energy ignition = YEOW! I got myself with a Jacobs Ignition high performance kit on my J33P years ago. Both arms and chest ached for days.

Wowee! Sorry to hear that!

Transmission shifts and performs perfectly now!!! Lovin it! But there is a scraping sound while driving (Will raise on the jack and spin the wheels to diagnose), and the power steering isn't working. The steering is so loose, feels like I'm driving a boat on the ocean!!!!!

42 years old and needs more attention than me! At 43, I am holding up much better!

Thanks all, you are my new family!

Stevo