1996 Tahoe Slow turn Clunk and grind.

[Magistrate]

Hello All.... I have a 1996 Tahoe and when I do a slow turn I feel a slight grind and when I get out of my turn it clunks in the rear end. Can anyone shed some light on this? I haven't opened the diff yet. Could it be my gear are worn? Also when I lift the rear of the vehicle and start the engine put it in Neutral my wheels are spinning. I can stop the wheels from turning but it does have some force behind it.

[kenny-1907]

Any noise from the rearend when turning can almost always be found to be a bad spider gear. They are there to allow each wheel to rotate independantly and when making a turn also allow one axle to turn faster than the other. IMO i think you have a spider gear gone, if you are going to take the cover off and look at it yourself , look closely at all the gears for any pitting.

[Magistrate]

I should have looked at the forum last night. Today I lost about a gallon of diff fluid and punched a 4 in hole in the diff. Toast..... Looks like an overhaul in the never future. Merry Christmas to me... Might be cheaper to look at the wreckers for another rear axle and do a swap. Maybe I could find a stronger rear end that is 6 lug. Any suggestions? Or would you know the cost of a complete kit including the ring and pinion. Hmmmmm... Looks pretty expensive on my part. Word of advice. (There is always a calm before the storm...) There was no sounds or grinding whatsoever for the past couple of days. So i assumed it worked itself out. I guess it's true when you a assume... You make an ASS out of U and ME. LOL...