T. A. Corvus

Hey,

I working on an '82 4x4 longbed with a 22r.

I'm new here, but I'm hoping for some advice / pics / tutorials. I'm pretty sure that the front and rear bearings behind my (leaking) pinion oil seal on my rear differential are worn and causing some pinging sounds on the driveshaft, as well as some low moaning sounds at certain rpms, especially in 5th gear. When I grab the driveshaft at the rear u-bolt, I can flex it up and down as it goes into the differential, which is why I think the bearings are shot. Has anyone here ever replaced these? I'm looking at about $100 for the two bearings, or $150 for a kit that has all of the bearings and races for the rear diff., plus the bearing spacer and lubes. I already have a new pinion oil seal, so I don't need another one of those. Any thoughts on getting the kit vs just the two bearings? Any advice, pics, or tutorials? I don't want to throw down that kind of money and screw it all up. I searched this forum for "rear differential" but I didn't see anything specific to replacing these bearings. Thoughts? Thanks!

snobdds

If you have that much movement, then I bet the races on the pinion are gone. You might need a new ring and pinion and rebuild kit. Either way you have to pull the diff to replace the bearings...might as well rebuild the entire diff or buy a new one from MarlinCrawler or WABFAB. It's cheaper just to buy a new diff that is set up correctly. Good time to regear if your planning on putting on larger tires.

T. A. Corvus

Thanks for the info snobdds! Any other thoughts / ideas out there?

drew303

Www.gearinstalls.com

It's not a task for a novice. Working on these require special tools and precision.