Super oops yes no ?

[Kaiser2boy]

There is a dodge M37 site on facebook ok. I go there now and then just to see whats going on. A fellow ( Anthony Batso) posted up that he could not find the oil check point in the rear axle. Must have had a lot of dirt ?? Anyway he said he removed the lagre set screw from the left side of the pumkin. I told him that was a real bad idea seeing as how its an adjustment and now you dont know whats going on inside. I asked how he got it out because every one I ever saw was welded in place so you could not do this. He said he put it back and it went in to right where it was as far as depth.
Just wondering what are the chances he will be OK , is there any chance the adjuster pad would have stayed in place or could it fall into the rear and be a time bomb.
The guy is not a mechanic and is totally afriad to pull the rear apart.
Any ideas ?
What really stuns me is he went on the site to ask about this ,,AFTER HE DID IT ! ! !

[Frank Irons]

Yes, if he got the screw out the thrust block will have dropped to the bottom of the housing. It will be churned up with with the oil and end up who knows where. Pull the third member find the thrust pad and reinstall with the right clearance. The weld must have been bad locking the screw in if he was able to remove it that easily.

Frank

[Kaiser2boy]

Thats what I figured. Just wanted to check with someone else. He is getting a load of info and its not all good. One reponder told him he did NOT need to remove the axles in order to pull the diff.
It will be interesting to check in and see how he is doing.

[lten1063]

The ole boy should have gotten a lub order for the M37 & M37B1. But again he is not a mechanic so it probably wouldn't do much good.

Later Joe

[Kaiser2boy]

I checked back to see how he is doing. He got the diff pulled and he says the adjuster pad was still in place but way out of spec. He said the ring gear was hard to turn and the oil was thick and gray. He posted a pic of the back of the ring gear and it looked real un-happy. It looked like it had been scraping on someting.
Some how , "form what he posted " the pad is there and welded to the end of the screw ( ? ) and the screw was broken off on the outside of the case. When he took out the screw & nut from his attempt to check the oil only part of the adjuster came out.
If you go on Face Book and search Dodge M37 you may find him listed His name is Anthony Batso I think. He spells worse than I do so its hard to figure out what he is saying some times. Still its interesting to follow his misadventures.

[tuko]

The broken bolt is a ring gear bolt

[Charles Talbert]

Super oops, likely very soon

If the whole unit isn't already in ruins, it likely will be sooner rather than later if he doesn't pull it completely down to see exactly what all is going on. Discolored oil is a sure sign of water, and I'd almost bet other foreign matter is floating around also. The scenario you describe is also a very good indicator that there will be issues in the core of the diff with spider gears, side gears, and thrust washers.