88 Bronco Drivetrain SLOP. U-joints or Ring/Pinion going bad ?????
 

I'm looking to buy a 88 Bronco 302/auto that has some drivetrain slop in it.

The dude says he "thinks" its the Ring/Pinion going bad and about to break.

I drove it and it sounds/feels like bad U-joints.

How does one diagnose a Ring/Pinion going bad ??

When mine went bad, the pinion yoke was somewhat wobbly in my grasp, got to the point to where I was blowing pinion seals. There were also metal shavings in the housing when I removed the cover. Or you could just replace the u-joints since they probably need it anyway, and see if the simptoms persist.:)

Doesn' take a whole lot to remove the diff cover and peek at gears. Thats my suggestion.

Set the parking brake, crawl under and grab the pinion side of the rear U-joint yoke and try to twist the driveshaft. If there is slop between the driveshaft and the pinion yoke, the u-joint is bad. If that checks out, with the pinion side of the rear yoke still in your hand, see if you can get any movement out of the pinion shaft OTHER than the rotary motion its supposed to have. If you can, the pinion and pinion bearings are suspect. If not and the rotary slop between the pinion and the ring gear exceeds a couple of degrees, the ring and pinion are suspect. If none of that yields any tangible evidence of the problem, tell the guy you want to pull the inspection cover and see the rear end gearing before you buy.