Well I went sideways around a corner in the ELXR6 last night and as the back end kicked out CLUNK CLUNK. It CLUNKed once more when I gave it a bit out of the driveway this morning...
IT doesn't seem to be leaking oil, and gripped fine on other corners on the way here...

So the question is.... Do we think the diff is completely rooted? Or is it something as small as an oil change... or maybe the cones or something? I've come from owning a FWD and a single spinner fairmont, so I'm not really sure on when to know when an LSD is f**k.

Price estimates would be good lol.

(And I did look through other diff threads, I jusut couldn't find one that answered my exact question).

The exact same thing happened to me but I ripped a massive burnout before turning at the end of the street, my diff was a SS so i guess yours will be a bit different.
The guys at the diff joint said that a shaft that is meant to stay stationary has started to move and the CLUNKING noises that you have heard was the shaft comming loose, i.e. clips holding the shaft have broken.

So i ended up buying a brand new LSD with 2nd hand 3.7 gears for $1200.

Your best bet is to take it to a diff place and get them to open the centre and have a look.

axle coming loose? i doubt it..

more than likely the cones jumped they're stationary position instead of smoothly moved,

Take it to a nice open bit of concrete and do hard left and hard right circles,
If clunking noise happens your cones my be a bit worn, theres a few diff additives you can use to solve binding cones.... Penrite make one as AU's have a reputation of clunking after installing 80-140 diff oil.

These BTR diffs are quite strong, and to break the hemisphere or the 4 pinion arrangement u'd have to be pretty reckless.
IE, load up the car with people and do burnouts would be a pretty easy way to wreck it

I hope this noise is only the cones.. and if they're worn you'd only loose limited slip performance and a VERY tiny bit of spidergear contact.

cheers

Andrew

The diff in my el xr6 was starting to clunk very badly as well, and groan when turning corners sharply. Took it to a diff joint and thy pulled it apart and it was just the cones that had worn down a bit. Apparently it's a common problem, and is just normal wear and tear of the diff. To give you an idea of price i got charged $460 for a new set of cones and springs as well as some new oil and penrite additive. Might have been expensive but now i have a nice quiet diff so I don't really care!