front axle seal and howling noise

front axle seal and howling noise - help

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hockeydad - 12 Dec 2005 14:01 GMT

I posted a note last week with a noise problem on my 1994 Ram 1500 4x4.
I had a couple of responses that suggested that the REAR differential
was going bad. I would like to up date everyone.
As I understand it, its very common for the bearings in the Chrysler
rear end to go bad, but as I drive down the road the sound seems to be
closer to the front of the truck. Now I can't tell this for sure as
I cant hear it very well with the windows open. The other interesting
piece of data is the front passenger axle seal went last week. I
replaced the seal and within 100 miles I'm blowing a lot (enough to
leave a puddle) of oil again .
Has anyone had a problem with their front axle that caused both the
passenger axle seal to blow oil and a noise? What could be causing
both?
Here is my original description of the noise............it sounds like
a winning, howling sound that seems to increase in pitch with road
speed. It's the loudest between 30 - 40 MPH, but can be heard slower
and faster. Sort of like tire noise, but I don' think it's the
tires. I also replaced both front hubs and axle joints over the
summer, about the same time I put tires on. I don't think is the
transmission, the noise does not change when I push the clutch IN, put
it in different gears or even coast in neutral. The noise doesn't
seem to change with load either. I even put the transfer case in
neutral and ran the tranny through the gears with no noise. I replaced
the rear u-joints and changed the fluid in the transfercase and front
differential with no change.
Any more ideas?

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hockeydad - 19 Dec 2005 19:40 GMT

Update....... Well I found out why the oil seal was leaking. After
pulling the axle out for the second time, I decided to really take my
time and look for the bigger issue. Before pulling the axle out, I
removed the CAD cover and observed the axles as I rotated the hub. To
my surprise I noticed the axle was not turning symmetrically were the
intermediate axle met the stub axle. For my discussion, the
intermediate axle runs from the CAD to the diff, the stub axle is from
the CAD to the U-joint and the outer axle is from the u-joint to the
hub. After pulling the axle out I noticed the bushing from the end of
the stub axle was gone and the hole worn badly. Upon reassembling,
with a new axle, a noticed everything was fine until I tightened the
three hub bolts. The hub pressed the axles together so tight they would
not turn freely as the CAD. I removed the hub and reinstalled it
several time to find no improvement. I now know where the old bushing
went. Seeing as the hub was only a few months old, I took it back to
AutoZone and got my money back. I then bought a high quality unit from
another, more reputable parts store. The hub fit properly with about
1/16inch end clearance between the axles.

The noise is still there but I'm guessing the ground remains of the
bushing has done a number on the bearings in the differential. The
moral of the story it's not worth the $30 savings by purchasing sub
standard parts from AutoZone. I already have $150 into axles and seals
and I still have to fix the differential.

P.S. When I took the hub back to AutoZone they said. "Oh there is a
hold on that one. I'll give you a refund" Gee I wonder why!!!!

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Destin Rogers - 28 Dec 2005 14:28 GMT

> Seeing as the hub was only a few months old, I took it back to
> AutoZone and got my money back. I then bought a high quality unit from
> another, more reputable parts store. The hub fit properly with about
> 1/16inch end clearance between the axles.

What brand of hub gave you problems? What brand did you end up with?

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