Well i figured out where my part-throttle thump was coming from. I have some pictures of the differential removed. The picture quality isn't that great but i'll try to explain what were looking at.
Side 1

Side 2

Zoom-in on side 2 even though side 1 holds the pin but side 2 is brighter.



Not much left of the casting and to many more miles and it would of been a complete failure!

The unit is being rebuilt by a company named Dahmer Powertrain INC.

 

Normally there is a pin to hold the center gear in place to keep exactly this from happening. The shop explained to me that either the pin must have sheared off or was missing during the installation. The yellow area is where normally a pin sits to keep the shaft from having any play.

 

the co thats rebuilding the rear, will it cost my firstborn to get something like this done?

 

I wont know the overall cost till its said and done but to get the part from the dealer means buying the whole rearend! its a fraction of what the dealer would charge to get it rebuilt. My extennded warranty company covered the repair luckily so ultimately they will be paying for the repair . Dahmer also has its own 3 year unlimited mile warranty on the rebuilt unit.

 

I have seen the exact same type of pin failures on Peugeot rear differentials. Usually from excessive wheel spin. Was it also making a clicking sound at low speeds when turning?

 

wow, looks nasty, how did they find it before it physically broke? you got them to pull off the back plate and look for a problem or you found this yourself? our last diff did not have ANY damge to it other then a front bearing

 

No clicking, just a thump which i realize now is the the play in the differential. The car had a slight thump when i purchased it with 5,000 miles on it. It was a 1-year Chrysler corporate 1 year lease... so who knows what caused the pin to fail.

 

just a gues something wasn't right in the Diff when i lifted the car one day to check the carrier mount and i could spin the axle almost 180 degrees back and forth. The rings themselves look like they are in good shape