# Tv Broke Down 220 Miles From Home



## NAturedog2 (Jan 29, 2007)

Spent the weekend in MO at Babbler SP, Very nice park. On our way home heard a loud noise and pulled over rear end was smoking and then locked up. Had to have it towed to nearest GM dealer. Luckily my sister in law was willing to come and rescue me with her F250 desiel but it was a long night (morning) got home at 5am left park at 5pm last night.

russ


----------



## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

NAturedog2 said:


> Spent the weekend in MO at Babbler SP, Very nice park. On our way home heard a loud noise and pulled over rear end was smoking and then locked up. Had to have it towed to nearest GM dealer. Luckily my sister in law was willing to come and rescue me with her F250 desiel but it was a long night (morning) got home at 5am left park at 5pm last night.
> 
> russ


 Wow! It could have been me! Glad you made it home safely! How's the TV?

Eric


----------



## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

Well that had to have been a bit scary!







Any word yet on what happend? Did the gears in the rear differential blow-up? Glad you had a back-up tow vehicle to get you and your family home.


----------



## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Wow, and sorry to hear that happened to you. Best of luck with the repair. Remember, don't tow anything until you get 500 miles on the new gears or you will burn them up. And you already know how that deal works out


----------



## NAturedog2 (Jan 29, 2007)

Herbicidal said:


> Well that had to have been a bit scary!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No word yet on what happened, Still trying to get the dealer to supply a rental vehicle. They gave me the number to GM Customer service and they said it is the dealers respinsibility and they will be calling hte dealer and reminding them of that. I have t a feeling this si going to take a while to fix. I was Glad my wifes sister was willing to come and pick us up, Sunday night 30 miles for any town I wasn't sure what I was going to do. The tow truck driver was very nice and towed the OB TT to the nearest truck stop (small one) and parked it there so we hung out in the TT for four hours waiting for our ride. Sister in law has a F250 DEsiel which she hasent ever towed anything with and has put 240000 miles on it.. IT has a the brake controller and everything. Think the person she bought it from towed with it. So that worked out very well. It was a long night though.

Russ


----------



## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

A guy at work just burned his rear up too. Thing whined lounder then a 3 year old. He was towing his outback home, made it their but the rear is toast. His is an 05 also.


----------



## NAturedog2 (Jan 29, 2007)

Well Got a call from the Chevy dealer and they said the drian plug on the rear diff was missing??? Very strange. Never had it services and there was no leak when I left so ??? Maybe it came loose in transit, Anyone heard of this.

Russ


----------



## Chacfamily (May 15, 2006)

Just curious, did Babler SP let you use the handicapped site or did you find an open non reservable site? We are going there over Memorial Day weekend and we got the last available site.

Tina


----------



## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

Hope you're able to get your truck fixed up. Missing drain plug?? That's kind of strange









Mike


----------



## NAturedog2 (Jan 29, 2007)

Chacfamily said:


> Hope you're able to get your truck fixed up. Missing drain plug?? That's kind of strange
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I thought this was strange also. I havent had this serviced before so I know it was a service problem. Don't know if these can work loose on there own??? Wouldn't think so but who knows??? Said they can't work on it till thursday. so maybe this weekend I will be taking a trip to pick it up. Not really how I wanted to spend the weekend but that is how it goes sometime.

Russ


----------



## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

I assume its the stock rubber kind of plug... Unless your vent got clogged and the diff couldent breathe it could pressurize and pop the rubber plug out. Other then that I have never heard of such a thing on the rubber plug style. Maybe a threaded style could have come loose but I have never heard of that either...


----------



## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

NAturedog2 said:


> Well Got a call from the Chevy dealer and they said the drian plug on the rear diff was missing??? Very strange. Never had it services and there was no leak when I left so ??? Maybe it came loose in transit, Anyone heard of this.
> 
> Russ


It would be perhaps interesting to know if you left a small oil slick where you parked while at the campground or somewhere else...







On the rear diff of my Tundra, it's like a 22mm head, threaded, metal drain plug in a slightly recessed area sitting in about the 4 o'clock position when looking at the diff from the rear of the truck. That sucker is in there!

If the drain plug came out while driving down the road, you would have diff fluid all over the lower frame of your Outback from the blow-back. I suspect you're into this for at least a set of gears, hopefully nothing more.









Quite the mystery you have going on here!


----------



## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Herbicidal said:


> If the drain plug came out while driving down the road, you would have diff fluid all over the lower frame of your Outback from the blow-back. I suspect you're into this for at least a set of gears, hopefully nothing more.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That was my thought too. My parents lost a diff while towing and it coated the TT with burned fluid. Quite a mess really. I don't understand how you could lose a plug and not make a mess behind you....


----------



## NAturedog2 (Jan 29, 2007)

I don't see anything on the TT, Called the friend who's house we stopped at before heading home and he didn't see a drip on the gound where we where parked??? Mystery???

Russ


----------



## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

Nathan said:


> If the drain plug came out while driving down the road, you would have diff fluid all over the lower frame of your Outback from the blow-back. I suspect you're into this for at least a set of gears, hopefully nothing more.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That was my thought too. My parents lost a diff while towing and it coated the TT with burned fluid. Quite a mess really. I don't understand how you could lose a plug and not make a mess behind you....








[/quote]
I would bet the drain plug and fluid were already gone. I believe the rear diff on my truck takes close to a gallon of fluid as it also flows to the ends of the axles. For how long the fluid and plug have been missing...that is the question!


----------



## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Herbicidal said:


> I would bet the drain plug and fluid were already gone. I believe the rear diff on my truck takes close to a gallon of fluid as it also flows to the ends of the axles. For how long the fluid and plug have been missing...that is the question!


Agreed. If you don't see the mess somewhere, then you were likely dry before the trip started


----------



## Swany (Mar 2, 2006)

NAturedog2 said:


> Well Got a call from the Chevy dealer and they said the drian plug on the rear diff was missing??? Very strange. Never had it services and there was no leak when I left so ??? Maybe it came loose in transit, Anyone heard of this.
> 
> Russ


The don't rattle loose, they have to be left loose.


----------



## NAturedog2 (Jan 29, 2007)

Well the dealer is still waiting to hear back from GMPP The warrantee that we have. I guess it is normal on sucha expsive repair. Hopefully they stand up and pay hte bill guess it's going to be over $3000. Will write more when I get an outcome.

russ


----------



## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

Have they given you any more detail as to what they need to repair? With that dollar amount it appears to be far more than just gears. Gears by themselves, including parts and labor would normally be around $1,000 (plus or minus). I wonder if the axles were damaged by the shrapnel that was once the gears.

Dang, I sure hope it's covered.


----------



## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Maybe a used rear from a wreck can be located. If 4WD, just match gear ratios.

If it was indeed run dry, all the bearings are NG.


----------



## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

If you had an oil change just prior to your trip, my guess would be that the technician removed the plug to check the lube level and either failed to replace the plug or forgot to tighten it properly (you have to stick your finger in the threaded plug opening to check the level and examine the "look" of the gear lube oil).

Getting them to admit it will be the challenge.

One time, after returning home from an oil change, I noticed a 2" puddle of oil under the truck when I backed out of my garage. The mechanic at the 66 station was splitting his time between my oil change and taking money for gas. He left for the cash register after finger tightening the plug and he lost track of where he was in the process. When he returned to finish the job, he didn't tighten the drain plug.

I was one quart low by the time I got back there - 10 to 12 blocks away. I shudder to think what would have happened had I not noticed that puddle of oil!

Mike


----------



## NAturedog2 (Jan 29, 2007)

Scoutr2 said:


> If you had an oil change just prior to your trip, my guess would be that the technician removed the plug to check the lube level and either failed to replace the plug or forgot to tighten it properly (you have to stick your finger in the threaded plug opening to check the level and examine the "look" of the gear lube oil).
> 
> Getting them to admit it will be the challenge.
> 
> ...


The last oil change I did myself and didn't check the gear oil. ( I have never checked it before) I did have it changed at the dealer the time before that because it was in for something else at the same time. It is a good possibility that they left it loose. Wondering if anyone knows if it could have been loose/ missing for a long period of time or if it likley just fell out. I don't have any oil spots on my driveway, and hadn't noticed any at any of my stops. The only other thing is my last trip pulling the TT I did notice the weight bars had a coat of grime on them that was slick, thought this was road dirt but maybe I have been slowly leaking for a while???? any thoughts??

Russ


----------



## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

NAturedog2 said:


> Wondering if anyone knows if it could have been loose/ missing for a long period of time or if it likley just fell out. I don't have any oil spots on my driveway, and hadn't noticed any at any of my stops. The only other thing is my last trip pulling the TT I did notice the weight bars had a coat of grime on them that was slick, thought this was road dirt but maybe I have been slowly leaking for a while???? any thoughts??
> 
> Russ


You may be narrowing down the time frame when this all began. I bet the 'coat of grime' was from at least some of the diff fluid blowing back. I have no idea how long gears can run dry before they give it up.







Did you/they happen to note the mileage on your vehicle when that service was done? And what the mileage is now?


----------



## NAturedog2 (Jan 29, 2007)

Herbicidal said:


> Wondering if anyone knows if it could have been loose/ missing for a long period of time or if it likley just fell out. I don't have any oil spots on my driveway, and hadn't noticed any at any of my stops. The only other thing is my last trip pulling the TT I did notice the weight bars had a coat of grime on them that was slick, thought this was road dirt but maybe I have been slowly leaking for a while???? any thoughts??
> 
> Russ


You may be narrowing down the time frame when this all began. I bet the 'coat of grime' was from at least some of the diff fluid blowing back. I have no idea how long gears can run dry before they give it up.







Did you/they happen to note the mileage on your vehicle when that service was done? And what the mileage is now?
[/quote]

I am not sure if they even checked the fluid when it was last at the dealer, they did ask about changing the trans fluid, diff, transfercase but I declined. it was last in the shop at about 32k miles and now it has 38K I am wondering if it was the fill plug that was missing ( I will have him show me when I pick it up) and have know idea how long it would take to empty frrom the fill plug. I have heard empty it will not last more than a couple miles 1-2 before locking up.

Well got hte call from the dealer and it is going to be covered under factory warrentee. (Guess I had an extra 3000 mile since I bought it certified used.) So I am very happy about that.


----------



## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

NAturedog2 said:


> Well got hte call from the dealer and it is going to be covered under factory warrentee. (Guess I had an extra 3000 mile since I bought it certified used.) So I am very happy about that.


In a word... *AWESOME!* That has to be a huge relief!


----------



## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

Wow...great news Naturedog







Big relief!

-CC


----------



## Pakeboy2 (Aug 13, 2005)

collinsfam_tx said:


> Wow...great news Naturedog
> 
> 
> 
> ...


x2


----------



## NAturedog2 (Jan 29, 2007)

Well just got back from picking up the subuirban. The entire rear gear assembly had to be replaced, the housing and everything, so now I have a brand new rear end. seems to drive great onthe way home. A big relief that everything was covered by the warrantee.

Russ


----------



## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

Glad to hear you have her back.







Don't forget to give the new rear end some break in time, i.e no towing initially. I would suggest draining and replacing the diff fluid around the 750 mile mark and again at 3,000 miles. Replacing fluid is cheap insurance for long gear life.


----------



## NAturedog2 (Jan 29, 2007)

Well, surburban has run fine for a week and now the rear end makes a clunk when I stop or start . Thinking something is loose from when the put it back together. Have to bring it to a local shop today and see what they find. Hopefully it is an easy fix and I can move on from this problem and on to camping.

Russ


----------



## OutbackPM (Sep 14, 2005)

NAturedog2 said:


> .... rear end was smoking and then locked up. ....
> russ


 With the 1500 rear end I don't believe they use synthetic oil. In the 2500 the factory uses sythetic oil. If you are towing heavy then when they rebuild use a 90w synthetic which can cope with the heat much better than the mineral can. You could also put one of those shinny aluminum after market covers on as well which gives you greater oil capacity plus more effective cooling.

Hope everthing works out for you.


----------



## NAturedog2 (Jan 29, 2007)

OutbackPM said:


> .... rear end was smoking and then locked up. ....
> russ


 With the 1500 rear end I don't believe they use synthetic oil. In the 2500 the factory uses sythetic oil. If you are towing heavy then when they rebuild use a 90w synthetic which can cope with the heat much better than the mineral can. You could also put one of those shinny aluminum after market covers on as well which gives you greater oil capacity plus more effective cooling.

Hope everthing works out for you.
[/quote]

They did use te synthetic oil when tey rebuilt it. The aftermarket cap is a good idea also I will ave to look in to that.


----------

