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Howling 3.90 rear end, HELP

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Old Jul 15, 2002 | 03:19 PM
  #1  
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Default Howling 3.90 rear end, HELP

Well, I rolled the dice and bought a 3.90 rear end (complete rear end, not just gears) on Ebay and installed it on Saturday... The test drive resulted in obnoxious rear end noise. Not sure what recoarse I have with the guy , but I would like to know what can be done to silence this banshee... I was wondering if a change to Redline or Amsoil would help. If not, I'm wondering if taking it to a rear end specialist to have it 'set-up' correctly would be an $$$$ option... Not too many C5 rear end specialist's in Arizona, Any suggestions?
Shirl :mad
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Old Jul 15, 2002 | 03:49 PM
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Default Re: Howling 3.90 rear end, HELP (MrEracer)

Not to get you off track but how do you like the gears, other than the noise?
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Old Jul 15, 2002 | 04:17 PM
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Default Re: Howling 3.90 rear end, HELP (MrEracer)

hmmm that sucks!!!!!
I wonder if those were built by WCC also? Or if they were just ruined by the other fellow and he dumped them on you.
Not sure what you can do.
You could try getting ahold of Nate@Extreme in Phoenix or if near Tucson try Don's hot rod shop and see if they can get hooked up with somebody who knows about those gears. :cheers:


[Modified by intel55, 2:18 PM 7/15/2002]
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Old Jul 15, 2002 | 04:19 PM
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Default Re: Howling 3.90 rear end, HELP (MrEracer)

Sounds like an assembly issue or failed unit. Sorry to hear of your bad luck.
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Old Jul 15, 2002 | 05:36 PM
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Default Re: Howling 3.90 rear end, HELP (MrEracer)

I know this is of little help, but it's certainly NOT normal.
I have a complete 3.90 from Corvettes of Houston and it's quiet as stock.
No noise at all.

Not sure what you can do since you bought off of ebay, other than leave feedback, but you know if they were that loud the seller must have known.
And that really sucks.

Out of curiosity, how many miles did the seller claim the set had on them?

Best of luck,
capt.

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Old Jul 15, 2002 | 06:28 PM
  #6  
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Default Re: Howling 3.90 rear end, HELP (captfun)

Shirl, they were assembled improperly and/or the previous owner beat them to death. Whining/howling is due to really worn gear teeth or improper backlash adjustment. Either way, they're gonna have to be rebuilt, IMO :(
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Old Jul 15, 2002 | 07:28 PM
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Default Re: Howling 3.90 rear end, HELP (C5Noir)

Levi,
My experience is that gears don't howl unless they were not set up correctly at the time they were installed in the housing. I've seen gears fail due to abuse, but generally they don't start howling... Assuming they are not set up properly with the correct pinion gear to ring gear tooth contact pattern, I don't know if it would be possible to re-work the contact pattern after they have been installed and run...
Except for the noise, I really like the new ratio... Comes out of the hole much stronger, with no bog after it hooks up. I hit 145 mph in 6th gear yesterday and it was still accelerating...
I really don't like all the work involved and I'm not looking forward to another R&R. At least it's not as bad as it could be since this was the first job I did with my new lift... :D
Shirl
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Old Jul 15, 2002 | 08:50 PM
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Default Re: Howling 3.90 rear end, HELP (MrEracer)

MrEracer,

I don't think the gears were set up properly and once a pattern is worn in, the only way to get them as quite as they can be, is to start with a new ring/pinion gear set and have it set up correctly. That's my experience.

Good luck.
Mark
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