front differential

[ghettomobile]

I have a 1984 Tercel 4wd SR5, and when I bought it, it had 220,800 miles on it, and it did not run due to the fact that the carb was messed with to the point where it needed to be replaced and the fuel tank was full of rust. After messing with the engine, buying a junkyard carb for it(out of a 1985 tercel 4wd), and dropping the fuel tank, cleaning it out, and putting it all back together, i had it running. Supposedly the previous owner had replaced the transmission, so I didnt worry too much about the transmission. I take it out on a test drive around my neighborhood at around midnight (because it wasnt registered or in my name yet (hadnt been to the DMV)), and i noticed that when i would turn while accelerating, it would make a clunking noise. i had figured that it was probably the cv joints, and didn't worry too much about it until i was under the car inspecting the driveshaft and cv joints. i grabbed the part of the inner cv joints that goes into the front differential, and each side moved up and down and side to side quite a bit (about 1/4 inch in each direction) and they would move in and out of the front differential about 1 inch. I was wondering if this could be the front differential bearings, the adjustment of the front differential, or could it be that the front cv joints are not properly seated in the front differential. this could determined as to whether or not i keep the car, because parts in general that in good condition are getting scarce where i live, and i havent even seen a 4wd tercel that hasnt had the transmission stripped from it yet, so that would make the transmission hard to find, especially for the 83/84 model year that has the 3.73 gearing instead of the 4.11 gearing.

[onium]

I hate to hijack a thread, but I'm curious about the same things you are. I recently replaced my front axles thinking that they were the root of the clunking going on in the front when I cornered. The replacement took out some of the noise, but I'm left with some decently loud clunking when I corner under power, go over bumps, and while braking with the clutch engaged. reading stuff here I'm beginning to believe that it might be the front diff. No? There isn't much else up there that could be making the sounds I'm hearing. I also notice a little slop somewhere in the drivetrain when accelerating and decelerating sharply. These lead me to believe that it's the differential. So, I drive very conservatively in hopes of extending the life of these worn parts, but, If it is the diff, are these things rebuildable by a tranny shop? Would I need a complete replacement?

[3A-C Power]

We haven't seen many front diffs go because of bad bearings. I have a diff the side gears so mashed there are basically no teeth and it functions as a rear wheel drive. (not my daily driver) Well my point is even with the diff in that shape, the bearings are still fine as are the ring and pinion. I would look at front end parts, but then I've just been on a huge front end kick lately.