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Old Jul 8, 2011 | 09:48 AM
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Question rear differential

Having problem with rear differential, whining really loud, you can't even hear the truck running going down the road. That is pretty bad considering I have a straight thru exhaust. Anyone else had to replace theirs ? I only have 131,000 miles on this truck. I called the local wrecking yards and they just laughed and said good luck finding one, they can sell 5 every day. I never heard of that many problems until today, thought they were pretty much bullet proof. Anyone have any ideas on getting them rebuilt ?

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armstrong
 
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Old Jul 8, 2011 | 12:28 PM
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These rear ends, last longer than the mileage you have on your truck, spray Wd40 on the carrier bearing first if no change spray on the rear u joint, one at a time, if no change in sound than drain rear diff and see what it looks like, noise in rear diff is from, worn pinion bearing, ring gear and pinion, or carrier bearing's, or no oil!
 
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Old Jul 8, 2011 | 12:42 PM
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Carrier bearing and all u-joints have been replaced. I checked the gear oil when I got it and it was and is still full. I will have to pull the cover and drain it to see what is going on. I drove it 10 miles the other day and you could not lay your hand on it at the yoke.

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Old Jul 8, 2011 | 11:15 PM
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Do you have a lift on the truck? Your pinion angle could be off enough to cause the pinion bearing to fail.
 
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Old Jul 9, 2011 | 08:46 AM
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This is a really, really durable unit and not prone to early failure I've had them digest their own ring gear teeth to the point of dimpiling out the cover and never making a noise so I'd be suspecting wheel bearings, But I have seen pinion bearing failures on very high mileage units but it's pretty rare without a big lift Good Luck!
 
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Old Jul 9, 2011 | 08:48 AM
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Originally Posted by armstrongfordtrucks
Carrier bearing and all u-joints have been replaced. I checked the gear oil when I got it and it was and is still full. I will have to pull the cover and drain it to see what is going on. I drove it 10 miles the other day and you could not lay your hand on it at the yoke.

thanks
I just went through my entire rear end recently, these are strong units and I would say you may have one component failing. Can you put the truck in the air and drive the wheels? Obviously you'd need to exercise some safety measures, but this could assist you in pin pointing the origin of the noise. I'd do this prior to pulling the rear cover, so you'll have an idea of what to look at.
 
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Old Jul 9, 2011 | 05:25 PM
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OK, so I removed the axles and in drive the wine is very loud. That rules out any wheel bearings and brake pads. I removed the drive shaft leaving the front drive shaft and carrier bearing mounted, placed the truck in drive and no wine. That eliminates the u-joints and the carrier bearing. I locked the hubs and went on a road trip and the wine is still there, well looks like it's time to replace the rear differential in my opinion. Anything anyone else can think of to check ?

Thank for all the help
armstrong
 
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Old Jul 9, 2011 | 06:49 PM
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Did u take the cover off and inspect? Could be a pinion or carrier bearing.
 
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Old Jul 9, 2011 | 07:11 PM
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I did not remove the cover. I don't have time to invest in it, working 16 hrs a week overtime and living in a hotel 40 weeks out of a year. The garages I contacted wanted about 1200.00 to rebuild the one I have. I will just grab the one i found in a wrecking yard for 500 bucks and move on.

Thanks for all the help.
armstrong
 
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Old Jul 10, 2011 | 02:12 AM
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500 bucks is a great price if its any good but a rebuild wont take much time at all and NAPA will have a complete kit on a vac pac in stock for just a buck and a half....just saying.
 
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