duckhunter_1100

Long story short, I replaced my rear speed sensor last night in the hopes it would fix another problem that I'm having (posted in the non-drivetrain section), when I pulled the old one out of the rear diff, guess what came along with it? Some metal shavings, aren't I lucky. Anyways, I haven't been noticing any problems with my rear end or anything, but is this a tell tale sign that I'm gonna need new gears soon? Also, if you look at my other post about the abs and brake lights, I'm wondering if the metal shavings could be affecting the signal between tone ring and rss, as there are probably some shavings that got onto the rss when I put it back in. However wouldn't I have had the same speedo problem beforehand with my old rss? Sorry for the two different questions, just would like to get this all figured out. Thanks.

derf464

I had the same problem. After I first noticed the metal I want another 3-5 thousand miles before I developed a problem. The end result was the pinion bearing. It was the large bearing closest to the ring gear. I went ahead and replaced them and all is good now. Be prepared if you decide to replace the bearings. The small one is about 60 bucks, but the bigger one is about 220 bucks. Now this if from the dealer, for a dana 80.

SIXSLUG

Yeah, I was gonna suggest a bearing rather than the ring gear or pinion gear, too. However if the bearing is going it can ruin the ring and pinion if it gets too sloppy. Try to feel some play at the pinion u joint area and look for fluid leaking around the seal. Kurt

Deezel Nate

Woah!

You can get a whole master rebuild kit with all bearings and seals for about $200 from a gear shop like Randy's Ring and Pinion.


As for the shavings, that sensor is magnetic correct? A little bit of wear metal stuck to it would be normal. Has the big magnet on the diff cover picked up anything?

darrenG

If you have shavings that ruined one bearing then all other bearings are suspect. I would bite the bullet and replace the carrier bearings as well, and all the seals too. Pretty much, the master rebuild kit Deezel Nate mentioned.

how big were the shavings? how many? Shavings off of the pinion or ring gear are pretty unlikely, I would think. Stripped or broken teeth, yes, but shavings? I've trashed bearings and races and have never seen shavings.

I'm curious to see these shavings if you have any pics.

mysterystench

same thing happened to mine, about 1500 miles later the pinion gear broke, almost in half!

im actually searching for a replacement now and came across this post