hey yotatech, im in some desperate need of help, i searched and searched and couldnt find quite the answer i was looking for.

about 6 months ago i was driving from gainesville to tampa ( 120 miles ) right after i changed my diff fluid, when i got back to gainesville after the weekend, i noticed gear oil all over the back hatch and come to find out my diff chucked the fill plug on the way back to gainesville, im not sure when but when i drained the oil out to refill it, a little over 1 qt came out, maybe 1.5 qts. (it takes 2.5 to fill it) so that means i lost between 1 and 1.5 qts of fluid and was driving at high speed. ever after that it made a little noise, but nothing horrible.

about a month later i changed my bearings and seals on the passenger side and then took it into my local tire shop to get it aligned and balanced where they noticed gear oil leaking out and then with my permission replaced the outer seal. when i got in my truck and drove off, i IMMEDIATELY noticed a strange noise and then a very loud !POP! and drove it right back to the shop.

they said my bearing was bad and replaced the bearing and inner/outer seals but ever since then when i make VERY WIDE right turns and use my brakes slightly it howls like a coyote until i release the brakes.

i took my truck into the same chain but a different location (different cities) and they told me what i had long suspected... that something in my rear end was broken and in SERIOUS need of replacement.

so my questions are, do you guys and girls think it is the ring gear or the differential or both? and do you guys think that the first shop that replaced the bearings is at all liable for any damage that occured as a result of whatever they did when they replaced the outer seal?

im going back to tampa this weekend to get it fixed before i have a catastrophic failure and want to know if i should just get the ring gear replaced or just the differential replaced or both? is there an easy test or visual inspection to tell what is damaged when it is all apart?

i need help as quick as possible this time guys, thanks in advance for letting me pick your brains!

 

Possibly the carrier bearings, or the ring and pinon gears, or maybe your pinion bearings.

The ring gear backlash requires a dial indicator. And is adjustable, to a degree, so it's not over 'till it's over there. If there's any visual signs of strain, like cracks/chips/gouges to the wear surfaces of the gears, you should replace them. To be on the "safe" side.

Check the pinion bearings by grabbing the flange and feeling for up/down,side/side play. Then spin the pinion flange, if the bearings don't move smoothly they're bad. If they do, you need to check their pre-load with a spring scale. Got that # if you need it.

The carrier bearings can be checked by removing the pinion from the 3rd member and spinning the carrier. If it don't spin smoothly, they're shot.

Don't know what to tell ya about those seals. MarlinCrawler.com has the primo, best on the market.

 

alright, so that sounds like the 3rd needs to be pulled to check that out... any one else?

 

I agree, you can only guess whats wrong until you pull the 3rd.