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Diagnosing a noise

SolarBell

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Wheat Ridge, CO
So I'm trying to find the source of a noise the sounds kinda like a bag of rocks rolling around somewhere. Problem is that it doesn't do it all the time. Popped my front diff cover and the fluid that came out was full of little sparklies, but no huge chunks. The magnet inside my diff cover didn't catch much either. But I'm not sure if my ring and pinion look right on their wear pattern. What do you think?

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These were installed by you-know-who about 2 years ago.

While it's apart I'm checking my axle shaft u-joints and greasing everything, then checking my flex plate and bolts.

Anything you see wrong or anything else I should check?
 
My interwebzzz diagnostic skillzzz indicate bearings, Doug. I've heard gears whine and howl, but bearings make rumbling, or percussive sounds.
 
Were those supposed to be new bearings?
 
Who the hell does that? I just had a buddy pick up a full set of bearings for a diff setup we're doing and ALL the cups and cones, including 2x carrier bearings and 1x inner pinion race for making setup bearings, cost 95 bucks, including a handful of stuff like slingers/roll pins/pinion nuts as well.

Did the guy reuse the original shims, too? :bs:

Skipping new bearings to save 50-100 bucks when doing a diff setup is just skeezy...
 
Fooking ouch!!!!!!!

I got my Timkens from autostoned, had Rich install them. I have no doubts about his workmanship.

It's really hard to see the contact pattern in your pics. Could you put a slug of clean grease across four teeth, and run them past the pinion?
 
If the Jeep were under power, would it be going forward, or backward?

Try turning the pinion the opposite direction, and take another picture of that pattern. You need to check contact under thrust, and coast conditions...or so I've read. ;)
 
Found some copper anti-seize. Seems to work even with my gear ineptitude. I put resistance on the carrier and ran it both ways. I'm not concerned as much with proper gear pattern as I am with trying to find out if my gears are cooked or not.

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I'll assume by the lack of comments that either that the gears are fine and I just need to get the bearings replaced or no one can make sense of the gear pattern I finally got. :)
 
That means I dozed off, while finding this page for you: http://www.xtek.com/pdf/wp-gear-failures.pdf

Your pictures on the interwebzzz, make the gears look pretty good. Someone else will have to comment on the pattern. I think you dodged a bullet.

in4aride said:
I didn't mean immediately. Meant as a replacement procedure
You are the guy who said he does not check pinion preload. My first thought was that he trashed the pinion bearings.

When I hit up Rich to change bearings in my project axle, he sent this check list of what he does:
DutchVDub said:
I'll swap out the bearings, adjust pinion pre-load, check to make sure back lash and pattern are still good, and make any adjustments
It's a thing of fookin' beauty! I'll have plenty of things to worry about, axles won't be one of those worries.
 
oh ya. Josh isn't a thorough person and preload isn't one of his finer points. Your pinion was run on with an impact until if "feels good and tight"
 
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