Most likely it is in tat area. I know of several differential rebuilds from
myself and friends. The pinion bearing has gone out in each case. You
don't need the entire rear end rebuilt as we did (we didn't know). I told
the dealership that if they didn't save all the parts for me I was not going
to pay. The parts are all fine except the pinion bearing - shot. That cost
me $1,300 for being stupid and in a hurry. I know now that I could have 1.)
done it myself; or 2.) had another "reputable" place do the work for much
less. I talked to this place after the fact and he said it was common for
dealerships to do this - lots of hours = lots of $$$
>>> I have a 06 dakota quad cab slt 4x4 with 4.7l engine with 3.55
>>> limited slip rearend.
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>
> Or it's just loose universal joints.
Chris Thompson - 14 Sep 2007 17:45 GMT
In response to Abby.Normal 's post. I thought everyone should know:
> Most likely it is in tat area. I know of several differential rebuilds from
> myself and friends. The pinion bearing has gone out in each case. You
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> less. I talked to this place after the fact and he said it was common for
> dealerships to do this - lots of hours = lots of $$$
if you are tearing all the way to the pinion bearing then why not replace
the other bearings? its no more labor time as you have already taken that
stuff apart. and pitting on the gears because of bearing shavings from the
failed bearings? that will make noise for sure. so a gear set is in order
in that case. axle bearings have been exposed to shavings in the fluid
also, heck they probably need attention too. plus its a prime time to
replace those axle seals (you have the axles out so why not? your already
there) i got news for ya dude, unless the tech/shop is crooked as hell
when your all the way to the pinion bearings you are already paying full
rebuild price for labor. so the only question is what parts do you need
and what parts are you willing to pay for as a PM thing while your there,
remember if you don't replace the axle seals for example and 2 weeks later
they start leaking its not the tech's fault they leak. you decided not to
do them when you had stuff apart, when it wouldn't have cost you anything
but the part. NOW you have to pay labor again, or should in my opinion
because its not his fault or the shop's fault that you didn't want to
replace the seal, because you believed you were going to get charged
"extra" for it.

Signature
Chris
Abby.Normal - 15 Sep 2007 01:13 GMT
it's not just the bearings - it's the gears and axles - every moving part.
There is also a lot of difference between $1,300 and $300. Especially when
you pour that kind of money into an old vehicle as I did.
> In response to Abby.Normal 's post. I thought everyone should know:
>
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
> replace the seal, because you believed you were going to get charged
> "extra" for it.
Mike - 14 Sep 2007 20:34 GMT
> Most likely it is in tat area. I know of several differential rebuilds
> from myself and friends. The pinion bearing has gone out in each case.
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> said it was common for dealerships to do this - lots of hours = lots of
> $$$
It's common for dearlerships to do that because they have to stand behind
their work. If the failed pinion bearing allows the pinion to move around in
relation to the ring gear it can cause an abnormal wear pattern. In some
cases you actually hear the ring and pinion howling, because of poor gear
tooth contact, not the bad bearing. If you just replace the bearings and
re-use the ring and pinion it will be noisy. Now you have to take everything
apart again to replace the ring and pinion.
When any bearing in a differential fails it usually sends metal particles
through the entire axle housing. If you look closely at the bearing surfaces
you will see the metal particles embedded in the bearing races and rollers.
It is not uncommon to see particles of the failed bearing embedded in the
ring and pinion gear teeth also. That is the reason why most "reputable"
shops will replace everything. At the very least you MUST replace ALL the
bearings and flush out the axle housing if you want the job done right.
Chris Thompson - 14 Sep 2007 22:13 GMT
In response to Mike 's post. I thought everyone should know:
>> Most likely it is in tat area. I know of several differential rebuilds
>> from myself and friends. The pinion bearing has gone out in each case.
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> shops will replace everything. At the very least you MUST replace ALL the
> bearings and flush out the axle housing if you want the job done right.
in complete agreement here.

Signature
Chris
Abby.Normal - 15 Sep 2007 01:17 GMT
I agree with you both had my truck been a newer one. However, with 90k
miles on it, I only wanted a few more miles from it - not have the rear end
out last the rest of the truck. I also failed to mention that the
dealership failed to put the drive shaft back on correctly and in a very
short time (2-3 days) ended up doing the work again because the new pinion
bearing and drive shaft both failed from the vibration. That was dangerous.
> In response to Mike 's post. I thought everyone should know:
>
[quoted text clipped - 34 lines]
>
> in complete agreement here.
yamaha700@shaw.ca - 15 Sep 2007 01:33 GMT
> I agree with you both had my truck been a newer one. However, with 90k
> miles on it, I only wanted a few more miles from it - not have the rear end
[quoted text clipped - 46 lines]
>
> - Show quoted text -
Thanks for all the info, the truck goes into a shop on Monday, I will
try some of the suggestions and I will let you know the outcome of the
shop and my tests!!
Ed M. - 16 Sep 2007 13:59 GMT
>> I agree with you both had my truck been a newer one. However, with 90k
>> miles on it, I only wanted a few more miles from it - not have the rear
[quoted text clipped - 68 lines]
> try some of the suggestions and I will let you know the outcome of the
> shop and my tests!!
My Ram 1500 ('95 4x4) is going in tomorrow because I found the rear
u-joint was bad and I also found that the pinion nut had backed off. I have
no leakage of any fluid from the housing so I will just hope I caught it
early enough. It is old, but paid for......:-). It is newly painted and in
great shape even with over 170,000 tough miles so I will fix it and keep it
going. It just had it's first tranny rebuild and all but the now bad u-joint
were replaced then..... I had thought they had done them all. I had no noise
except the 'clank' going into reverse from drive and vice-versa that pointed
me to the u-joint.
One little tidbit of info that some have had problems with Brake and ABS
lights staying on............. I had replaced the rear wheel speed sensor
and it corrected my problem for a couple of weeks and then the lights came
back on. The problem turned out to be the brake light switch of all things.
I didn't even know that my brake lights were intermittingly going out, and
it would send a code and keep the dash lights on constantly until power was
reset. A simple fix for a strange issue.
Ed
Abby.Normal - 16 Sep 2007 17:43 GMT
Be prepared for news of the rear end. I suspect the pinion nut has not
backed off - rather it is the bearing gone bad and the pinion is loose as a
result.
let us know.
>>> I agree with you both had my truck been a newer one. However, with 90k
>>> miles on it, I only wanted a few more miles from it - not have the rear
[quoted text clipped - 88 lines]
>
> Ed
Ed M. - 17 Sep 2007 12:40 GMT
> Be prepared for news of the rear end. I suspect the pinion nut has not
> backed off - rather it is the bearing gone bad and the pinion is loose as
> a result.
> let us know.
Yea.....I am prepared......:-(. The play in the rear end was not
up-down-side to side but actual end-play, but I do know if this had been
going on for very long that it could very well damage the pinion gear and
more. I will post the findings once they shop gets to the truck. I use a
local, small town 4x4 shop that is very well known for their Jeep off-road
and rock climbing teams and they have a very good reputation for their good,
honest work and reasonable pricing. They said they should be able to get it
done this week.
Ed