So, I have been having a loud howling during deacceleration only at around 20mph or so. I was thinking that I could have a bad pinion bearing so I bought a rebuild kit and figured while I was in there I would do a new ring and pinion. I tried to tighten up the pinion nut with no change. In fact, I don't even think it moved.

Fast forward a couple of months, I have taken the cover off of the rear end and now I am not so sure it is a bearing issue. I don't have any play in the yoke up, down, left, or right, but I do seem to have a decent amount of rotational play (or backlash as I understand it). I will measure this to determine if it is out of the acceptable range.

Also, the fluid seemed to have a lot of metal in it. Not shavings, but just the powdery type.

Do you guys think that maybe the crush sleeve has been crushed too far and now my backlash is too far out of spec? If that is the case, based on the pics, should I just throw a new crush sleeve in there and go on?

I am trying not to have to do a full rebuild if I don't have to.




Metal on the magnet.



Drive side.



Coast side.



Fluid had a lot of powdery metal in it.

 

Your crush sleeve has nothing to do with backlash. I suggest you read read and read. Understand gear wear patterns, backlash, and rotational drag. Once you have a firm grasp on these concepts you can look at your rear end and determine what is the issue and what its gonna take to fix it.

 

That's all I have been doing is reading. I feel now like I can tackle the rebuild, but only if it is necessary. I don't want to tear it apart for no reason.

Sorry, I got confused. All of the reading has gotten me mixed up. I meant the pinion depth.

If the pinion depth is too shallow, would that cause the howling I described? I know it would throw off the pinion preload.

 

did you take the cross pin lock bolt out ?
that ring gear looks awful shinny.
does the oil smell burnt ? do the
bearings feel/sound gritty when
you turn the ring gear.

 

Yes, I took the lock bolt out cause I was going to start tearing it down and then I thought about it.

Oil smells somewhat burnt. It has that real geary smell too it, could be normal, I am not sure. The first smell that comes to mind is not burnt smell though.

It feels pretty smooth when I turn it. No feel or sound of grittyness.

I have been reading more and there are several other forums that mention if the pinion depth is too deep it can cause the howl I am experiencing.

I think I have made the decision to go ahead and just do a rebuild with new bearings since I already went this far, but the main question now is whether I use the new ring and pinion I got. I could save about $400 if I don't.

 

The gears are already worn, once the howl they are done for.

Was this unit rebuilt at some point or is this the factory set up???

 

Ahh, OK, well that pretty much settles it then. I don't want to go through a replacement of bearings and then end up having to pull it all apart because it still howls due to the wear on the ring and pinion.

Yes, it was rebuilt about 8ish years ago. New ring and pinion, but same posi. It is an Eaton LSD.

 

My dad has howling during deceleration at 70mph. I did some reading and found that improper pinion bearing preload could be the issue. Like stated, once they're howling, they have worn to the point of howling and you won't be able to get them to mesh correctly anymore since the tooth profile has changed. Look at the gear how to thread started by AxisT6 if you haven't already. It happens a lot when I did my 14bolt.

https://www.performancetrucks.net/fo...ll-how-460061/

 

Jeeblow, thanks. That is the exact thread I was referencing for the teardown and rebuild. It is pretty good. Too bad Axis isn't closer to me, I would ask him if he could show me a few things!

Looks like the consensus is that I need to just do the full rebuild. I think it will be better off in the end anyways. As long as I can get it setup right.