80 series problem I think front diff

may be to obvious but did u check the uni joints they could be floged?
how many k's

Tim.

Sound correct.
I have a 94 petrol GXL that is the same, The front diff gives the most backlash. If you rebuild the front diff the clunkiness will reduce but not totally. Being constant 4wd the total backlash comes from: Front CV's, front diff, Driveshaft splines?Uni's, Transfer case, gearbox and rear diff. When this is all added up the backlash is quite a lot.
Some people have converted back to 2wd and naturally this makes quite a difference.

All The Best
Greg

Gidday Tim,
I have just finished (today)assembling my front axle assembly.The diff had no problems but I had to replace both c/v joints and hub adaptor,all seals and w/bearings.It is a simple job to do and the difference is outstanding.You wont remove all the slack in the system but it is a big improvement.
Seeya Locallaw

Tim,

A 1/4 of a turn is too much on your front drive shaft. It should be no more than 1/8 at the most. I think you will find that your diff and axels may be on the way out. With that much movement it means the splines on the axels and in the diff have worn away (to a point - instead of being flat on top) giving too much play. If this is the case it will require the diff (which is a Hilux diff) and axels being replaced.

I know this because mine had too be done in Oct 04, cost me about $2000 all up - it had to be done. The back lash has improved, but with the constant 4WD it will always be there so I am saving up to fit on of the part time kits.

Hope this helps and best of luck.

When the dampers in my clutch wore out I had heaps of backlash and a bang on starting. Put a new genuine clutch in a much better.
Check the C.V joints by turning full lock one way and accellerating then the opposite way. If you hear clicking noise they are buggered. Replace them with new joints not reco ones as they have a fair bit of stress on them.
I think a 1/4 of a turn on the front pinion is not to bad.

Hi
As above, when you consider that there are drive flanges that wear and cv's aswell, pus 80's are renowned for this too.....its a case of wait till you get oil coming from the diff and then work on it....keep the grease into the c/v's via the 14mm plugs on the back...
Use Moly (Lithium base)
Andrew

Tim,

Always take an interest in any posts about 80 series, as we have a 97 model with 243K clicks on it.

Today i got underneath, and checked freeplay in front driveshaft, and it is less than an 1/8 of turn. While ours is a bush vehicle, much of its life has been on long trips, usually with cruise control doing the work. Rarely do much city driving, reckon that would be the place to increase wear in splines etc.

Hooroo...