Hello everyone! New guy here, wondering if there are any other bay area folks around here? I have an '89 trooper with 2.8 V6 and 5 speed, 150k miles.

Also looking for a mechanic who knows Troopers, to help diagnose my driveline problem.

Cheers,
Bill

Welcome Bill,

I'm on the central coast right now, will be on the North Coast in a few months. Good to see another 1st gen Trooper in the mix. There are others out here, give them time and I'm sure they'll chime in.

Describe the problem with your driveline. It may be something you can do yourself and save some money.

Joe

Welcome to the wire, where abouts in n.cal are you at? i am in the northern part about 50miles n.of sf. Don

Don't gots a trooper, just two rodeos.
Live in the valley now but from SanJose.

So whats the issue with the truck?

Scott F.

Hi, and thanks for the replies. My Trooper lives in Richmond, CA, at my work. I spend most my time there too, might as well live there.

The problem with my driveline is odd. Shows up as diff whine, a broken U joint in rear. The truck appears to have never been hit, and everything looks straight and stock from underneath. So I don't think it's an alignment issue from collision damage

I think I need to replace all mounts to get to a baseline. Truck has 150k miles (I've owned it for 3 years and 2k miles).

I've replaced transmission mount (it's a 5 speed), and have engine mounts I need to install. Diff mount seemed OK, but I don't really know what I'm looking at. We checked and adjusted that big nut on front of diff. The U joint that blew had passed a visual/pull test. Accell/decell changes the noise, which gets much louder on decell. By feathering the throttle just right, you achieve a stoichiometric (sp) stasis that eliminates the noise altogether - but that's fleeting.

What other mounts might I check: diff, transfer case, center bearing(s), stuff like that?

Anyway, love my Trooper, just got some new tires on her, and after a full service she'll be ready for another 150k miles. Been reading up on the small block V8 swaps, I'm crazy enough that it appeals to me. but probably just do the standard 3.4 and not get too crazy about it.

You "checked and adjusted that big nut on front of diff"?

That nut is not "adjustable". If it was loose, you had a problem. If you tightened it, you have a problem. It sounds like you may have a pinion and or pinion bearing problem. Noises that change with vehicle or engine speed are usually not a mount or bushing issue.

Change the rear diff fluid. Is is sparkly? If so, that is your pinion bearing coming out one sliver at a time.

Good luck,
Michael

Sounds like the slip yoke on the tranny to me. From the sound of it, mine did the same thing. My solution was to pull the driveshaft, packed the slip yoke with grease and put it all back together.