2002 Montero 4x4 Trans and Rear diff help!

[SONICMASD]

Regarding the rear diff - The axles popping out of the diff is a known issue that Mitsubishi fixed on models built October 2005 and later. There are new stub axles with a bigger groove and bigger circlip in them to fix this issue, or for cheap, you can just replace the circlips with the new bigger ones. Even though replacing the stub axle with circlip is the 100% correct way to go, many ppl have just replaced the circlips and I've not seen any repeat failures reported after this. Unless the rear diff was run without oil then I would expect it to be in good shape, they're pretty much the strongest rear diffs you can find stock on an SUV.

 

[MikeE75]

Thanks. I’m going to get the set that’s listed on rock auto. I prefer to do things right the first time. But then I get lazy and half ass things. Don’t wanna deal with spending more trying to do it cheaper. Thanks for the info

 

[Inyo_man]

I’m going to get the set that’s listed on rock auto. I prefer to do things right the first time. But then I get lazy and half ass things. Don’t wanna deal with spending more trying to do it cheaper.

I would recommend using Mitsubishi parts for this repair, not aftermarket parts. ...just my two cents.
Cheers

 

[MikeE75]

Ok so update on my rig. Trans went in but still have weird clanging noise from the rear end. So it’s no longer a transmission issue. Still trying to diagnose the problem. Again after jacking up my car the sound and vibrations go away for a few days as the car settles for lack of a better term. Had a chance to get under the car and there is a lot of oil on the dif. None of the clips are sticking out. So I’m still looking at having a bad rear diff. I was told possible the drive shaft was bad. Took it out seems fine. No real play in the ends. I picked up the wrong drive shaft as it from an 01 limited. So about 3-4” too short. But the play on the ends was about the same as mine. Next on the list is to just pull out the diff and hope that fixes the sound. I have limited space and knowledge of drive line issues. So forgive me for sounding like an idiot. But I’m going to get under it again and check the fluid. One other thing i noticed after the trans was put in is that the rear end chirps when I turn like I’m in four wheel drive. Here’s where my lack of knowledge kicks in. Could my fluid be low and just needs to be refilled? Sounds stupid I know but I don’t have much time to research and learn this stuff as I work on call.

 

[Michael Brown]

I can't say for the noises, but check for a leaking pinion seal on the front of the rear diff. I had to replace mine not too long ago.

 

[MikeE75]

Changed the rear dif fluids and truck has been sitting over night. Nothing new leaking but i wasn’t able to really get under and clean off any of the grease and dirt on there to see if anything new was leaking. The rear tires don’t chirp when turning now and it got up to speed and didn’t hear anything like before. Finding the rear dif has been a pain. All I can find are the 4.3 rear ends. Except one yard here locally has a 01 Xls with the 4.9 according to the guy at the yard. Gonna give it a few and see if the sounds come back.

 

[MarkGramlich]

Can you check the label on our rear Diff? It may be a hybrid LSD.

A "chirp" from the rear tires could come from a LSD (Limited Slip Differential) rear diff. This is pretty common as the LSD tries to keep both tires turning at the same rate. On a wide turn, the LSD will slip a bit and allow both rear tires to rotate at slightly different rates. On a tight turn, The LSD will slip some, but it's not usually enough to allow each tire to turn at significantly different rates. On dirt or gravel, you won't have a chirp as the road surface is loose. One will get a chirp on a hard surface like asphalt.

 

[MikeE75]

The rear end never did it before I had trouble with my transmission and all the other stuff that happened to it. Drove it around after changing the fluid and it stopped chirping. Looking for a new rear end. Just a hard part to find that isn’t in a junked out Xls with unknown miles on it

 

[Inyo_man]

The LSD rear end should not "chirp" at all when daily driving. It sounds like fresh fluid worked a treat.
Be sure to only use OEM ATF, and a quality synthetic GL-5 in the differentials (especially the rear LSD).
Cheers

 

[MikeE75]

Well I took it out for a spin and the knocking sound came back. I’m about 95% sure it the rear dif. Unless anyone else can figure out why when I lift up the rear all issues go away until things settle down. Usually about 3-6 miles. Issues like feeling like having a blow out until letting off the accelerator. Banging sound although nothing is loose. And a few other things. But like I said at this point I believe it’s the rear dif which in my area is a pain to find

 

[offthepath]

If the noise goes away after jacking up the car, it may be control arm bushings. Worth a shot.

 

[MikeE75]

UPDATE!!

Rear dif is replaced and was probably the problem. Also it had been swapped to the 4.3 rear end at some point. Now just need to settle it in and see if the shakes come back. But I’m pretty certain it was the diff. When putting into gear it would clank. Now it doesn’t. Speedo is dead on and before it was off by 5 +- mph. Quick and dirty wasn’t very quick but very dirty. It was a chore and the heat didn’t help at all. Need to swap out one cv axle. Will leave that for later though.

 

[MikeE75]

Ok so second update…. Didn’t know that broken cv axles could reseat themselves and work fine. So after new trans and rear dif I finally found the last bit of issues with my rear end. And that was finishing up my cv axles. No more noise and now on to the next issue that pops up ha.