tranny went bad on type44. Shall I be surpised?

[Roy Wendell]

> Roy,  drive flanges move a lot - 1/4 inch at least.  But there was no 
> whining whatsoever.   The reason I went there is that I significant 
> oil leak in the area of right drive flange(I had to add about 300-400 
> ml, I don't consider it was dangerously low level, righ?).  I  changed 
> the seal anyway.   What puzzles me that moved the car out of garage to 
> parking lot,  moved in on the lift next day to change brake hose and 
> the flange was all in oil.   Probably it wobbles so much that even new 
> seal can not hold the oil inside.  But why the left side does not leak 
> then, I wonder?   Moving flanges with hand feels same on both sides. 
> Unfortunately, I don't have garage, it is damn cold and I have limited 
> time in on lift in a garage where my friend works as mechanic.   I 
> need to find shortest time-wise remedy.  I sounds like I have to find 
> used tranny.
>
> Thank you,
> Konstantine.
>

Hmm, 1/4" does sound like a lot. That would mean that the differential 
side gears have been wearing down the diff carrier casting or vise 
versa. Odd, very very odd. It involves a lot of work but at the very 
least you might want to check and make sure that the bolt that holds 
the drive flange to the gear is tight. It's an allen head bolt in the 
very center of the flange that is revealed once you take the inner cv 
joint off.

Tell you what, I'll slide under mine at some point tomorrow and see how 
much play mine has just as a comparison.

Roy