All of my ring gear bolts backed out in my 8.8. I had a shop set up the rear for me a year and a half ago because I didn't trust myself to do it (now I know better). Now all the ring gear bolts backed out, and a couple snapped in half (I'm assuming these snapped after the rest had backed out). Anyway, what's the cause of this. Improper torque and/or not using locktite? I'm just wondering if I should bother contacting the shop or if they'll just tell me "tough shyit"

definetly sounds like a setup problem to me... take it back to the shop and ask them WTF is going on.

good luck w/ it :flipoff2:

You should not have to put locktite on the bolts because they are special locking bolts that should only be used once. It helps, but it isn't necessary. I bet what happened is they cut corners and just reused the old bolts, which should then have locktite on them. Just take it back to 'em so they can make it right.

honky---here's my input....ya, locktite may have kept them tight. What might have been the root cause of them 'vibrating' loose? Could be just that. Perhaps a driveline vib rattled them loose with miles....did you have any noticable long term vibs while driving? Were these Richmond gears? Coming back after a year and a half....hard to say what they might tell ya. let us all know what happens. ZUK

Originally posted by Honkylips
All of my ring gear bolts backed out in my 8.8. I had a shop set up the rear for me a year and a half ago because I didn't trust myself to do it (now I know better). Now all the ring gear bolts backed out, and a couple snapped in half (I'm assuming these snapped after the rest had backed out). Anyway, what's the cause of this. Improper torque and/or not using locktite? I'm just wondering if I should bother contacting the shop or if they'll just tell me "tough shyit"

Proper TQ is one possible reason, using cheap fasteners is another, reusing aftermarket bolts supplied with cheap gear sets is a very good one. And others may say it is not required, but I know every gear set I've ever seen has thread locking compound supplied for just that reason,,, and the folks at my local drive line shop use it on every set up. Must be a reason... LAst thing,,, I've never seen or noticed anything on ring gear bolts that make them self locking, but I could have missed it.

honky---here's my input....ya, locktite may have kept them tight. What might have been the root cause of them 'vibrating' loose? Could be just that. Perhaps a driveline vib rattled them loose with miles....did you have any noticable long term vibs while driving? Were these Richmond gears? Coming back after a year and a half....hard to say what they might tell ya. let us all know what happens. ZUK

No driveline vibes that I've noticed. It has been a year and a half, but only 11k miles. I'm taking it back to them next week. I'll let ya know what happens.

The same thing happened on the 8.8 in my truck after 8 months or so. i heard a strange noise coming from the rear end of my truck one day and when i tool off the cover to inspect it all the bolts were loose and 3 had snapped off. one of the said snapped bolts was wedged between the ring gear and the carrier. the noise was caused by the pinion cutting grooves into the bolt head. i dont know what caused this to happen on mine. when i fixed it i put locktite on the bolts. as of now i havent heard anything wrong in the rearend. but i havent taken the cover off to check it lately


in conclusion i would say locktite the hell out of them. cant hurt

Originally posted by ZUK
What might have been the root cause of them 'vibrating' loose? Could be just that. Perhaps a driveline vib rattled them loose with miles....did you have any noticable long term vibs while driving?
Damn, I guess I should start freaking out about my rod bolts now. That vibration thingy sounds pretty scary.:rolleyes: