[schmaydee]

...been having a rattling/shuddering (not real bad) from the rear end in my 82 zxt....checked...the cv axles, drive shaft , u-joints all look ok...but theres play in the pinion...or @ least when i turn the drive shaft i dont see play in the u-joint but the shaft going into the rear end turns (back & forth) about a 1/4 in...is this normal?...also w/the car in gear and both wheels raised off the ground they spin freely (of course in opposite directions)..should they do that when the car is in gear...or is it just because they are "hanging" all the way down.....?....s

 

[shaver]

Hmmm, had my the centre pin in my diff go last summer, the set pins gave way and the pin was doing this freeforall type thing for a few days, giving me all the warning signs (a nice clang every time it hit the spider gear) but every time i checked it, it would'nt do the damm noise) finally driving home she gave the last big slip and rammed up against the spider (damm near took 5 teeth off )
the moral of this story is : I new there was a problem with the diff, I should have pulled it right away and checked it.