LUVTruck.com

Well i got my cadilac to my parents place this weekend. So i drove the $240 wonder from McChord to the Spokane Valley, about 330miles. It whent smoothly except for one thing that would have stopped most people in thier tracks. As i was assending Snoqualami Pass (going over the cascades only about 90 miles into the trip) the caddy made a loud "THUNK" and the car jerked violently. Well i figured i hit something and as i didnt hear anything else i figured it would be ok, so back to 80mph i go. I then pull off at a rest stop to stretch the legs (this was my third trip that day, so i was on roughly mile 700 and going on 48hours whith no sleep) and decide i should look at the rear end (this is where i thought the sound came from). I notice that my gas tank and all the way up the bumper and trunk lid is misted whith 90wieght. This is not too good, so i make the desicion that i overheated the ring and pinion due to loss of fluid and the thunk was a tooth launching off. Well rather than stopping i decide to push my luck and back to driving 80mph it is. Then around mile 200 of this trip it happens again, i figure what damage is done is done and i realy only care about the engine and tranny of this car anyway so i press on. The thunk and violent shudder happens a total of 4or5 time through 330 miles and whith each time a vibration from the rear end gets worse. When i turn into my parnts drive way the rear end sounds like a small jackhammer.
So i pull the cover and start pulling pieces of ring and pinion and even one piece of the carier from the housing. It seems what had happened was the ring and pinion was fractured before i got it (possibly why i got the car for $240) and the first thunk was a tooth lounching clean through my diff cover, thus the spray of 90 wieght. So all said and done i lost 4teeth off my pinion and 6teeth off my ring gear and a small shard from the carier. But the amazing part was it kept going, i thought whith damage like that a diff would lock up tight. And one thing that blows my mind about all this is the axle is only an 8.1" 10bolt(its stamped on the ring gear which is also barley 1" thick)! This is behind a 425 big block! WTF...

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

that is some scary stuff, sounds like you had a fun trip. And 48 hours no sleep, that is insane

and this may be an odd question but in order to learn i have to ask....what do you mean when you say 90 weight?

thanks

90 weight gear oil.

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-Old ride-82 Luv diesel 5spd with some upgrades
-Past rides-82 Sierra, 78 Coupe De'Ville, 91 2dr Blazer, 86 RX7, 86 Porsche 944T (rear-ended and totaled)
-Curr. rides- 1970 Ford LTD 4dr, 390 4Bbl, 2nd owner! With a few Extras 00' Civic beater...

thank you kindly sir

so does this mean "caddy luv" is gonna be created sooner? i think i speak for everyone when i say you should git er done! LOL

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"but its that gut feeling of you're drawn to what feels right for yourself and what you're passionate about..."

no this didnt advance my agenda at all. The sole purpose of the caddy was to donate its engine and tranny to my 79 LUV. I actually called over a few friends and conned my dad into helping my pull it all out the day i got back. So we had the motor and tranny pulled out perty quick. Now its just up to the towing company to haul the rest to scrap.

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

ROTFL! "back to driving 80mph it is"

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Resident lurker

Yea... Don't baby it so we get there without a tow truck,no... just go faster so if it brakes we can coast the rest of the way!

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OK, I'm over it. Where's the beer?

shut up that was my thinking...

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

back when i was in high school.. yeah i know a looonnnggg time ago, i had a fiat 128 that tried to kill me on that same damned pass... put me into the guard rail coming back towards Seattle... 80 on wet road in a guard rail.... fun times