slop in the rear end?

[edw794]

went and drove an 03 terminator tonight that i am interested in purchasing. found a lot of slop in the rear end when starting off from a stop. seems it takes a moment before the rear end "catches" and then it "bangs in" and engages as the car moves. feels like there is a lot of play in the rear end gears. when the car is moving and the gears are shifted, the car seems to drive ok. is this caused by a bad clutch, or by a bad rear end?

ed

 

[ShelbyGuy]

or by feet of clay...

its a combination of lack of smoothness on the pedals, and a stacking of tolerances between the trans and rear end (mostly trans)

most just learn to drive around the issue by being smoother on the controls.


The IRS diff is actually tighter than a solid axle. It gets less backlash and more carrier bearing preload.

 

[xstork]

rear end slop

I dont know who the crack head at the factory was that set up my rear end but it was so bad that when I pulled it apart at about 4000 miles the ring gear had every tooth broken at the tips , the shims were all the same size sounds like the backlash machine went down and they used a standard set up instead of waiting to run until it gets fixed , I love the car but I hate the way Ford cuts corners and they wonder why they are in the trouble I have spent more money and time improving stuff that should have been done from the factory , I guess they had to shave 50 bucks here and there so the execs could get there bonuses :fm:

 

[Senkak]

The clunk unfortunatley is normal.
You learn very quickly to drive around it.
Do a search on the clunk. There is a lot of info to be found.





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[ac427cobra]

went and drove an 03 terminator tonight that i am interested in purchasing. found a lot of slop in the rear end when starting off from a stop. seems it takes a moment before the rear end "catches" and then it "bangs in" and engages as the car moves. feels like there is a lot of play in the rear end gears. when the car is moving and the gears are shifted, the car seems to drive ok. is this caused by a bad clutch, or by a bad rear end?

ed

You need to look at the differential housing as someone puts a little clutch pressure to it in both directions holding the brakes. If the differential is flopping back and forth the mounts are toast and need to be replaced. If the diff housing is not moving then the play is in the gears (trans and diff) in the driveline.


FWIW

:thumbsup: :coolman: :beer: