[ddgriffith]

ok guys, I have had the same problem that a lot of you have had with your cars, the rear differential and the clutch packs making their grubbing sounds on the right side. what i am now wondering is what is my next move. The dealer thing is out, been there done that , no help that's over. I have changed the grease in the rear end 3 times now and have added the right amount of grease and have actually increased the additive part a little extra this last time but after 500 miles my noise is right back again, just the right hand side.
What are my best options here, get a whole new rear end, get clutch packs rebuilt trade or sell the car or what?
i have ask 2 or 3 different guys about just installing the clutch packs and they aren't real anxious about doing it. is there a place where some of you have checked into these different options. could use some opinions here if possible....thanks.....

 

[ChopTop]

Would think first course of action would be to diagnoise the problem before considering throwing money into replacing parts. I understand your unhappy w/your dealership experience so you may want to PM GMCustomerSvc here on the forum for advice.

Far as replacing the car, that's something only you can answer. I look at it this way, a car is nothing more than a bunch of parts, and theoritically speaking, if a part breaks someone should be able to find the issue and fix it. But at the end of the day if something is causing you more problems than giving you pleasure, then yeah it might be time to cut your losses and move on.

 

[ddgriffith]

thanks chop top for your reply. dealership says that it is the clutch paks on the right hand side that is the problem. they say that both sides would need to be replaced, better option would be to just replace the entire rear differential, seems for some reason that they don't like dealing with the clutchpaks. i have checked with three different dealerships and all have the same answer, when car was under warranty they would have just installed a whole new rear assembly. that's the reason i was wondering if anyone on here had got a whole new assembly somewhere and where would be the best place to check on it. you mentioned the GM customer dvc on here , where is it at on the site and who are they? thanks for reply......

 

[TomatoSoup]

Here's your cheapest option for a new one: OEM SKY SOLSTICE 3.91 RATIO MT POSI REAR DIFFERENTIAL LIMITED SLIP G80 25968533

This is for an NA car - you don't say what your model is.

You can doubtless find cheaper used ones on eBay.

 

[rob the elder]

thanks chop top for your reply. dealership says that it is the clutch paks on the right hand side that is the problem. they say that both sides would need to be replaced, better option would be to just replace the entire rear differential, seems for some reason that they don't like dealing with the clutchpaks. i have checked with three different dealerships and all have the same answer, when car was under warranty they would have just installed a whole new rear assembly. that's the reason i was wondering if anyone on here had got a whole new assembly somewhere and where would be the best place to check on it. you mentioned the GM customer dvc on here , where is it at on the site and who are they? thanks for reply......

At the top of this page are a set of options. Home, Forum etc. If you click on Members List, it will bring up all the members forum names in alphabetical order.

Pontiac Solstice Forum - View Profile: GMCustomerSvc

GMcustomersvc is the general user name for representatives of that organization that look for opportunities to contribute in a positive manner when service issues are brought up on this forum. You can send them a PM or an email and they will respond.

The differential can be repaired however most most dealerships lack personnel with the experience to set them up properly. Some believe that setting up a new differential is an artform and do anything they can to avoid doing it. Its a lot easier and safer for the dealelrship to just swap out the whole rear end.

My recommendation would be look for a shop that specializes in rebuilding differentials and talk with them. Look for a performance / speed shop first that has a good reputation for doing rear end rebuilds and gear changes. If you don't have one locally, go look for a good 4x4 shop. People that do offroading or build lifted vehicles generally develop considerable experience and expertise in swapping out gears and rebuilding differentials. A good shop sould be willing and able to swap out the clutch packs for you for a lot less than buying a new differential and they will warranty their work.:grouphug:

 

[TX08manualGXP]

My 06 makes the rearend clunk and before last night, was the only problem. we have driven it daily since february and it has not gotten any worse. I'm just driving it like it is and have ignored the clunk, with a little help from the boys from Metallica. then, then it finally takes a dump, then I'll change out the diff and probably get both half shafts and then be done.

 

[ddgriffith]

thanks everyone for your information, i did call that place you all told me about and they did have a rear chunk for the car $900.00 including the shipping. The clutch packs are $150.00 each side and it is recommended that both sides be done when doing it so I would need to find someone to do it for me. I guess if a man followed the directions he could do them himself, dealer said that the clutch packs came with full instructions..... don't know which way that i will go with this thing

 

[typhoon]

ok guys, I have had the same problem that a lot of you have had with your cars, the rear differential and the clutch packs making their grubbing sounds on the right side. what i am now wondering is what is my next move. The dealer thing is out, been there done that , no help that's over. I have changed the grease in the rear end 3 times now and have added the right amount of grease and have actually increased the additive part a little extra this last time but after 500 miles my noise is right back again, just the right hand side.
What are my best options here, get a whole new rear end, get clutch packs rebuilt trade or sell the car or what?
i have ask 2 or 3 different guys about just installing the clutch packs and they aren't real anxious about doing it. is there a place where some of you have checked into these different options. could use some opinions here if possible....thanks.....

First of all, I hope you didn't actually put "grease" in your rear end:willy:
Have you tried driving in a very tight figure 8 about a dozen times? This has fixed many a rear end noises, shudders and grinds.
I have set up a lot of rear ends in the last 40 years, mainly for off road trucks and sometimes the old figure 8 does the trick.

 

[mcpigm01]

Mine has been doing this for 80k miles. I just make sure it's full of fluid and it's been fine. Hasn't gotten any worse. I think it'll out last the car.

 

[ddgriffith]

thanks guys for your help on this, first off i didn't use grease, sorry bout that...lol... first time i changed the fluid i went right by the correct mix and this lasted for about 800 miles or so before the grubbing came back, next time i changed it i added more of the additive to it than the regular fluid and it lasted longer before it came back, this last time i more than doubled the additive mixture to it and this time it has run better than 3000 miles since it started back with the noise. typhoon, all the times that i have changed the oil in it i never drove it in the figure 8 pattern. I would drive it in right hand turns and work my way in the circles until i was going in as tight of a turn as my steering wheel would allow, did this for probably 15 mins then i repeated the same thing but only with the left side. never did the figure 8 pattern at all

 

[TX08manualGXP]

Hmm, i never heard about the figure 8 fix. Once I get all 4 tires back on it, I'll give it a shot. is it just in forward motion or does doing it in reverse have similar effects?

 

[markophoto]

ok guys, I have had the same problem that a lot of you have had with your cars, the rear differential and the clutch packs making their grubbing sounds on the right side. what i am now wondering is what is my next move. The dealer thing is out, been there done that , no help that's over. I have changed the grease in the rear end 3 times now and have added the right amount of grease and have actually increased the additive part a little extra this last time but after 500 miles my noise is right back again, just the right hand side.
What are my best options here, get a whole new rear end, get clutch packs rebuilt trade or sell the car or what?
i have ask 2 or 3 different guys about just installing the clutch packs and they aren't real anxious about doing it. is there a place where some of you have checked into these different options. could use some opinions here if possible....thanks.....

I'm in the same boat. I was also told by them that there are no parts available for repairs on the differential, you must change out the unit. They pointed out that if you can ignore the noise it's no problem to continue driving the car since any additional damage really doesn't matter since the whole diff has to be replaced at some point. When that time comes I'll definitely be looking at an aftermarket part though I'm not sure how well that will play with all of the electronics (TC, ESC) It feels foolish to go back with a GM part with the history involved though the dealer feels that whatever the issue was has been fixed by now.

 

[TomatoSoup]

Disc kit shows as available at Nalley (if, of course, that's what needs to be replaced )

DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER PART 2. Fits: 2008 Pontiac Solstice TURBO 2 DR CONVERTIBLE | Nalley Buick GMC Brunswick

 

[ddgriffith]

thanks for the information tomato soup the images of the clutch paks are very well visible there. I am just about ready to take the blooming thing out and try to replace them myself, crap man.... if i have directions it can't be that hard to do as long as i wouldn't have to do any delicate type work.