Well I brought my truck to a good tranny place and they told me that the bearings are worn in the rear end. What I wanna know is how long till they go and how much will it cost to have new ones put in or should I buy a used axle? The rear end is a 3.55. Non Posi

 

well i got a bronco with an 8.8 with bad bearings and i have been toolin around for6 months like that ...just turn up the radio....its sometimes the best tool u have

 

Swap the axle.

It should only run ya ninety bucks from a bone yard.

Check the driveshaft for any sign of a ding or bend tho...

If the shaft is bent, it throws bad news at the input shaft bearings on the rear, and that typically causes the howl.

Axle bearings don't generally make that noise.

The pumkin might be replaceable, but the whole works is not so tough to buy.

When you swap it - reload it with fresh ninety weight. You'll be glad you did later on.

~Wolf sends

 

Wolf thanks for the info, I friend of mine said the same thing. Do you think a posi would cost more then a non posi at a junk yard? I hate it when it's raining and you try to pull out while turning just loves to spin.

 

Are you sure your just not low on fluid? The rear in my old Ranger made the same noise when it was low on gear oil.

 

no they checked the rear end fluid and it was fine.

 

I had a recent learning experience with rear axles. It just started roaring like crazy, sounded like gears were being smashed together and everything was falling out. Really had me troubled until I asked a tow-truck friend of mine what was going on. Thought rear end was coming out from underneath car. (really big car) While diagnosing I mentioned to him that I couldn't tell what was causing noise because sometimes I thought it was on right side, and other times it sounded like it was on left side. He told me to check axle bearings. Well, he was right. After some investigative work, I found that my right side axle bearing had failed. I spent $42.00 dollars down at the parts store for new bearings and retainers, and with a torch, grinder and a 3000 pound press, I was good to go. Problem solved. But I was getting ready to buy an entire rearend, boy I'm glad that I have the friends I do. A 31 year old Ford 9" rearend with coil springs is difficult to find.

The more I drove on the bad bearings, the worse the noise got, and you could feel it real bad in the floor boards. I thought I had broken a gear in the 3rd member and it was getting caught in the carrier. I took my car to a shop before I went to my friend. They also told me rearend failure. So here's how to check it. Raise rearend into air, remove both tires, drums, and place transmission into neutral. Make sure to choke front wheels so your vehicle doesn't roll away on you. Then take each side at a time, place hand over axle hub and rotate forward and backwards and take notice of any catching, binding, or grinding sounds. Rotating axle by hand should be smooth and quiet. If you get anything like mentioned above on either side, pull that axle. You may need an axle puller which you can rent cheap at Autozone. You can replace bearing and retainer easily yourself or get another axle same kind with good bearings already on it.

*** Note: If you rotate and play with either side during initial inspection and both sides are smooth and quiet, you have a third member problem. But if you have a bad axle bearing, it will be very apparent. You will know without any special training. Not only can you hear grinding, you can feel it too.

I hope this is your problem in your case. $42.00 (complete set) is much cheaper than a couple hundred dollars. Make sure that if you pull your axles, install new seal. You can't reuse old axle housing seal. Be sure to coat new seals with new axle oil before and after installation, and don't allow axle to ride on seal lip while reinstalling axle. Seal is easy to replace with right tools. You will destroy seal if installed incorrectly.

 

indy james I'll try jacking up the rear end and turn the wheels, but the sound, sounds like's it's going from where the thing where the two drive shafts meet.

 

I tried performing the test with the wheels on also and test was not accurate. I found you get better results if you block vehicle from moving, Jack up vehicle and support with jack stands. Take off both wheels and remove both brake drums. Because you have a non-locking rearend like mine, you'll get better results if your hands are actually touching axle hub (part with wheel studs). Remember to place transmission in neutral for this examination. When you grab one stud and rotate axle forward and backward, if that axles bearing assembly is bad, your hands will feel it and you'll hear it. A weighted axle bearing (one with brake drum and wheel assy installed) will not give you same results. Axle bearing must be unweighted to be accurate.

If you find that neither axle is faulted, then while axles are both unweighted, get under secure truck and turn drive-shaft in both directions. If by feel or sound the noise returns, then 3rd member could be faulty. In which case, your teardown is almost finished. Just drain fluid from differential, and carefully remove one axle at a time. Rotate driveshaft each time just to be sure and if sound and feel continue, remove other axle and rotate driveshaft again. If it continues, then your 3rd member is bad. If after the removal of either axle the noise and feel stop, stop what your doing. The last axle you pulled might be your problem. Also check the spline condition as you pull the axles. With both axles removed the noise and feel continue, your 3rd member is confirmed bad. In that case, drop your driveshaft, and unbolt 3rd member and replace. Have a friend help or use transmission jack.

After replacement 3rd member is installed, reverse your teardown proceedures. Before you put axle's back in tube, your axle seals must be replaced. Correctly remove old seals, clean seat area and coat with brand new gear oil, then coat seal with new gear oil and use proper install tools and reinstall new seals. Put some gear oil on your finger and rub again on seal lip. When placing axle inside tube, be easy and don't let axle ride on top of seal lip. Gently push and lightly rotate axle to seat axle into it's resting place. Do Not use hammer to seat axle, soft mallet will work.
Line up brake backing plate, and retainer plate and reinstall bolts and torque to specs for your vehicle. Place brand new gearoil in diff fill plug per spec, put brake drums back on and adjust per spec, then the wheels. Place transmission in Park, or apply parking brake for stick shift. Put truck back on ground, your done.

If you've never done rearend work before, you can do it. It's not that hard. Just follow the procedures in shop manual, use correct tools and before you know it your done. Entire job can be performed in under one-hour. But you might need a second person to help hold 3rd member as your removing and installing unless you use transmission jack. Be sure to clean inside of differential housing removing metal shavings before placing replacement 3rd member in diff. Don't play with fate, use proper jack stands and secure vehicle before ever getting under it. Don't ever trust bumper jacks or floor jack for support. Your vehicle could slip killing you and anyone around you instantly. Take the time and do the job right the first time so you'll be around to enjoy your work. Never take chances and ask plenty of questions if ever in doubt. Someone will always be around to answer them.

 

what about the thing the holds the drive shafts up? could the sound be comming from there?

 

Are you talking about the carrier bearing? Usually mounted midway down chassis to a crossmember to help carry the weight of the driveshaft.

Or are you talking about the carrier inside the differential housing that the axle splines go into?

 

the carrier bearing on the crossmember, that is where it feels like the nose and sometimes feel it.

 

If you are talking about the carrier bearing that mounts to a crossmember along the chassis that the driveshaft passes through, if that unit ever goes bad you'll think Elvis got loose in your truck. Meaning, if carrier bearing goes bad, your truck will vibrate very badly. Worse than if u-joint is going out. As far as it making noise, it will humm like a drunk bumble-bee.

I've had carrier bearing failures on semis and it's not pretty. Causes massive damage if shaft breaks loose. But usually, it will shake your brains out first.

 

it does hum alot when it's cold but after awhile it go's away them comes back after letting the truck sit for awhile like a hour or so.

 

If you want to replace carrier bearing first, you have nothing to loose. And it shouldn't cost that much either. It's a much easier first step than working on rearend even though I found rearend easy to work on. If that solves your problem, then your in good shape. If it doens't solve your problem, then you'll know you have a new carrier bearing. Should last a long time. And then you can start diagnosing rearend.

Beit in your carrier bearing or axle bearing, I hope that your problem is in one of those two areas. They are cheaper to repair than a 3rd member.

As far as the replacement of carrier bearing, I have never done one and don't know. If you have a repair manual, refer to it, or ask someone in this forum. In addition to supporting the weight of the driveshaft, the carrier bearing keeps the alignment of shaft to rearend constant, fixed pitch. A rearend that is not in proper alignment will cause u-joint failure and dynamic vibration. If you change the ride height of your truck up or down, the alignment angle must also be changed. This alignment must be maintained all the time or you'll constantly have vibration problems and wearout u-joints quickly. And don't forget, if you change ride height of rearend, it affects the steering alignment and proper handling of vehicle.