UPDATE 4, Bad News -- Replacing rear bearings on a Dodge pickup?

I'm inclined to agree with Anthony that it's a pinion bearing. Chrysler products are notorious for this problem. That's why anyone that is using their truck for serious work has a Ford rear installed. The Dodge rears aren't up to the task.

Rita

That's frustrating. Did you listen to the whining noise from inside the truck with the doors shut, to offer a fair comparison to the noise you first heard?

Some gear trains do whine naturally, especially those which use spur gears, but I seem to recall that all the gears I saw in your back axle were helical. The famous (and now withdrawn) Routemaster buses in the city of London had a really distinct gearbox whine, which continued pretty much all the time as I recall.

Best wishes,

Chris

fords use sterling axles in their trucks i thought?

Was the backlass to spec? If it ain't it will whine. 1/1000 of an inch makes all the difference in the world.

beekeep

Forgive me for asking what might be a stupid question, but did you fill it with grease before the test?

Do you mean gear oil?

If so, then the answer is yes. I drove 40 miles with it also, after I made my post today.

The broken clip was locking tab from the brg pre load adjuster. Did you check the back lash ?? How much back lash did you have ???

Anytime I get whining when I let go of the gas I look at the universal joint bearings. Jack up the wheels and see if there is ANY play in the joint.

Yes. If I drive with windows open (I rarely drive with doors open:) I do not hear anything due to ambient noise.

Well, sure, but it started recently and seemed to be progressing.

I just won a dial indicator on ebay, I will hopefully have it on Wednesday. I will find out and let you know what is the backlash.

Doesn't that truck have a radio in it? If so turn up the volume and the noise will disapear.

beekeep

This is exactly how every lazy mechanic I've ever worked with rationalized it, and AFAIK, the only one who "considers" it okay is you.

Oh come on! You think he's author 4 individual threads if he had the first clue of what he's looking at? (no offense Iggy)

I hear tell (as of a few hours ago) that he now owns a dial indicator. Maybe he'll loan it to you so you won't have to "smidge" anymore. If not, I'll gladly loan you the one I bought back in the early

He ain't you (lucky for that).

First thing is to figure out how to keep an impact gun from 'impacting.'

Someone refresh my memory, was it a 3/4" or a 1" impact gun that Iggy was gloating about a few days ago.

Exaggeration noted.

Good grief, do you really want to stick by that statement? Take a look at the diagram Iggy posted here;

Now, what the f*ck do you suppose item #16 is and where the f*ck do you suppose it is installed? And as far as front versus rear goes, any and every parts book will specify that the bearing closest to the pinion gear teeth is the -rear- pinion bearing and the one closest to the yoke is the -front- pinion bearing. He's working on a corporate 9.25" axle, not a god damned Dana 60. The depth adjustment shims go on the pinion stem between the head of the gear and the rear bearing and the crush sleeve -still- has nothing to do with pinion depth.

Carl, how old were you when you quit as a mechanic? How old were you when you discovered you couldn't hack it anymore?

Nothing worse than a has been.

Well, there -is- one thing worse...

...a has been that can't remember.

no offense taken. I think that I do have a feel of impacts and just how far I could go, but I would not take a chance due to risks involved.

well, that one was sold (to our member, see my separate post about it), but I have a 1/2" impact gun that I use for unscrewing lugnuts and such. It has three torque settings.

OK, I understand that people can get emotional about 9.25" axles and such. I am just a little guy who is trying to solve a problem without running a risk of totaling his truck.

============= And there's the traditional fix -- cram the differential full of bananas and/or sawdust, and trade it in on a Ford....

Unka George (George McDuffee)

I sincerely believe . . . banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale. Thomas Jefferson (1743?1826), U.S. president. Letter, 28 May 1816, to political philosopher and Senator John Taylor

I had some rather lousy experiences with a "ford" previously.

I think that for my next truck I will look into Toyota trucks. I hope that I can get a few years out of this one.

Tell you what, go to your local parts store and ask to see a front wheel bearing assembly for your truck in 4X4 configuration. There will be a piece of paper in the box it comes in warning NOT to use an impact gun when pre-loading the bearing assembly upon installation. While it may be two different ends of the truck, the way the bearings are applied use wise is exactly the same, i.e., two opposing tapered roller bearings cinched together by a machined shaft. The warning is there because of warranty claims which were researched to be caused by people using an impact gun to tighten the axle stub that goes thru the bearing assembly. (the failure is quite tell-tale) At this point you are free to decide which way is right, but don't say you weren't warned. One way you loose a little sweat, the other way you loose the parts and work you're about to perform. I hear that same line of BS as Carl's every time I go mobile to another shop to repair a rear axle, always some dumb ass claiming they always use an impact gun to do that. (so why'd ya call me?) Yeah, well, that dumb ass doesn't have to warranty it does he?

Keep using it that way :-)

It's just iron to me Iggy, but when I see bad advice, all I can do is speak up. But something tells me that if all you were looking for was a shit job with shit results, you wouldn't have bothered to author 4 individual threads complete with web link.

Quite possibly all this is moot since Carl lead this whole thing astray claiming that the crush sleeve has something to do with pinion depth. (it doesn't and he knows it since he snipped it from his replies)

Is Carl related to snojob??

Roy

Actually, I think that was me who first mixed up what a crush sleeve is for. The axles I work on don't use them, so I was going from vague memory there.

Actually, I'd like to buy it back- I've been working with a friend on a very nifty little six-speed transaxle that shims the pinion from the front and got confused. As you say, the shim is at the rear of the pinion.

Nice. Do you make a lot of friends this way?

-Carl