Help me understand what the inner splined sets do in the differential.
The pic below shows the side gear components. The axle splines first pass through the side gear retainer then through the side gear; the side gear makes contact with the spider gears. If the axles only pass through the retainer and don't engage the side gear, there is no power transferred to the axle shafts.
When I heard the pop in the rear, did I do any damage if the axle was not engaged into the inner set of splines
I'm guessing that the initial movement was made with the gear components stuck together from age and deposits which broke loose and made the pop. No damage to hard parts.
