Haulin_in_Dixie

Looks like my rear axle did not like the mods to the engine. A few thousand miles and it is now singing at cruise.

wannadiesel

I'm sure 200k of heavy towing had nothin' to do with it...

Haulin_in_Dixie

Maybe my lucky day, pulled the shaft and the pinion bearings are loose. Of all the tools I have, no 1 7/8 socket so have to run tomorrow with it loose :'(

YOu mean that its not made for 33,000 [eyecrazy] [laugh]

Shovelhead

Did the nut back off, or could there be another reason for the loose pinion?

Haulin_in_Dixie

I cannot see that the nut backed off and is not loose but the design of it with the crush sleeve says that it has to be tightened. The last time I changed the fluid I saw that the pinion was too deep into the ring but I did not realize that and thought that the gears were wearing to a full contact, so I knew that it was worn.

There is probably a 1/16 in and out slop. There are no leaks. I have noticed a little more slack in the drive line lately and was looking for a U joint or something then on this last trip to Jacksonville I got tired of the radio and shut it off. I then realized that I had a cruise noise that went away with more or less throttle. Checked the plug on the road, full of lube, not too much metal on the magnet.

Bearings could be worn but not that much, probably the nut backed off or the sleeve collapsed some or a little of it all. Best I can do is torque to the minimum torque at this point and would have to pull the axles to set pull torque on the pinion. What I intend to do tomorrow is pick up the socket, do a side of the road adjustment pulling it tight until the slack is gone. In the next few days I will check it out properly. IF it is quiet, and the bearing appear good, just a proper retorque, I may change the pinoin bearings if the ring looks ok.

cstmfabman

Well, it's not likely that the nut backed off. I would guess that you have a good amount of wear on the inner pinion bearing, accounting for most of your slop. I just had this problem on my Jeep, let it get a little low on fluid, and fried the pinion bearings. Mine sings at cruise, too. It howls more when I'm on the throttle, and when I let off the throttle. It makes no noise at all, if there is no load on the pinion. Regardless, in your situation, tightening it up will probably not make it go away. Those gears have to have to be meshed just right to work and wear properly.