I need help with my rear
It forces the clutches to rotate inside the case, Cone-type clutcges have a spiral groove machined into them. The groove on the now-spinning clutch picks up the oil and smears it all around the friction surfaces. This action agitates the oil and homogenizes it,thoroughly mixing the oil and the friction modifier.
Now; if the clunk WAS being caused by the clutches, it should be gone.
It might not take 10 turns each way, maybe only 4, but I erred on the side of too many .
If the clunk does not go away,is not end-play, and it absolutely originates inside the differential; then it's more serious business, and the sooner you get a peek at it ,the better.
As mentioned several times above, you can check for loose axle end-play clunk by standing at the back of the car,and pushing the body to one side and pulling it back, in a push/pull shaking motion. If there is too much endplay, it makes a very distinctive clunk.
Setting the end-play is a bit of an art, and the wheels need to be off the ground, and hanging free. Sometimes the bearing races stick in the axle tubes and give a false reading. I have a 5pound sledge hammer I use to tap the axles home.
Sometimes when you pull an axle out, on the clutch-type SG, the Thrust-button will fall out. Then when you set the end-play on the one side, if you are not cognizant of this possibility, the side without the button is still loose.
Also, pinion nuts have been known to loose their torque, and it doesn't take much play for the diff to get noisy.
A click is different from a clunk. If the clicking increases with speed, check your tire treads for a foreign object stuck in them.
Also, just because a U-joint is new, does not preclude it not being noisy. I have seen the cups moving from side to side in the straps, and I have seen the crosses moving side to side in the cups. The driveshaft turns at many times the speed of the wheel, so if the clicking picks up tempo in a hurry, I'd be checking the U-joints for lateral motion.
Also, if you have wire-wheel wheel-covers,lol, they have been known to click in many places.
But having said all that;
inside the diff, the only thing different from driving in a circle to straight-lining, is the engagement of the side-gear/pinions and the SG clutches.
And the only things different between hot and cold is the pinion preload, and the oil-viscosity change, which while turning and at idle, could allow the spiders to be slamming up and down on the crosspin between the case and the side-gears; I've never heard them do that tho. A little throttle will drive them apart and that would be the end of the clunk.
Happy Hunting
