bad pinion bearing eating R&P?

[Dain Bramage]

my pinion bearing is going out. actually, its probably completely gone right now. the pinion is so loose right now that when i come to a stop, i can feel it wobbling. i talked to a guy today who told me that when the pinion bearing goes, usually the gears are toast too, especialy if the oil is silver. then, i talked to another guy who said that the gears can usually be re-used if you catch it in time. both guys i know pretty well, and i feel like i can trust their advice. i called trail-gear (i bought the diff set up from them, 4.88 and a detroit), i want to see if they will cover parts and labor since it should still be under warranty. if i want it warrantied, tho, it will probably take a little bit longer, unless they tell me to go get done whatever needs doing and send them the bill, which i cant see happening. i talked to a guy today who told me that when the pinion bearing goes, usually the gears are toast too, especialy if the oil is silver. then, i talked to another guy who said that the gears can usually be re-used if you catch it in time. i dont think i caught it in time, crash tightened the pinion nut 2-3 weeks ago, after i pulled my driveline to do a u-joint and found gear oil puddled up in the flange. whats everyones thoughts on the condition of the gears? i would like to get it done in time for the turkey day snow run.

 

[cheesemaker]

Good luck on getting them to warranty it. I've read alot of complaints on TG's thirds lately! From many different sites.

 

[Kat]

When the pinion bearings went in my 8.25, it started as a slight noise and slowly got worse and i was half way out to Spokane when it started so i kept going and got back the next day and went to Rairdons in monroe and they wanted over $1,000.00 for rebuilding it and Randy's wanted 650.00 then i asked Karl and he did it for a great cost and now over 1200 miles later still working fine. I never had gear oil spitting out and were able to reuse the gears. I think in your case it might be differant, most likely you should take a close look at it.

Justa girl's view,
Kat

 

[lethe]

nows the time to throw an ARB in there:awesomework:

 

[Boonie Buster]

If you get the stuff to rebuild it, bring it over and lets do it!:awesomework: if you want:eeek:

 

[Binder]

What axle are we talking about? Yes if you catch it in time you could reuse the gears and just replace the pinion bearings. If you keep driving it expect to replace the R&P and have to do another setup too.

 

[Cascade_Crawler]

pull it apart and see. If you catch it in time you can reuse the gears. Pull the 3rd and check it out. It will be easy to tell. See how much metal is in your diff, you other bearings could also be shot. Good luck on the warranty it could be a long process. If everything looks fine you can just get the pinion kit and throw her back together since you said you had the solid spacer instead of the crush sleeve.

 

[archer1965]

my pinion bearing is going out. actually, its probably completely gone right now. the pinion is so loose right now that when i come to a stop, i can feel it wobbling.

if this is the case, I'm surprised it hasn't failed completely. :eeek:

are you sure it's not the driveshaft or u-joint that's bad? either way, don't drive it at all until you pull the third and inspect it. :corn:

 

[84Toyota4x4]

Well, I had one that went out when I had 5.71s back in the day, and the gears were THRASHED. I also had one that was built and lost its preload on the pinion from a bad install, and the gears looked ok at first, but upon closer inspection I found cracks in the teeth in a couple areas. If it werent for those two teeth, I wouldve re-used them.

~T.J.

 

[Totalled]

You're ****ed.

 

[Dain Bramage]

thanks for the suppert, pat.

well, i am going to pull the diff tonight, and check it out. i got my fingers crossed. it got went out sometime yesterday while i was wheeling, and since then i have driven to kirkland and back, i noticed it on the way out there this morning. so its gone maybe 50 miles. **** i'm stressing.

 

[Cascade_Crawler]

take a couple hits and settle down

 

[blackcj71]

take a couple hits and settle down

hahaha x2 but dont drink the bong water.....:kissmybutt:




You'll never know whats the matter til ya got the third infront of you.. If they're aint much shavings in there throw a new bearing on there and run it for a week and check the fluid again for metal.

 

[Totalled]

thanks for the suppert, pat.

I speak from experience. If it got loose enough to wobble... 99% chance the ring gear is worn weird. The original 7.5 in my BII did the same thing.

 

[Dain Bramage]

take a couple hits and settle down

you know, you have a very soothing voice.:kiss:

got it out, there are no shavings in the bottom of the housing, no cracks that i can see in the ring gear teeth, all appears to be well with the gears.

crash, ready or not, i am dropping it off at your place tomorrow night.:hi: see ya then. sometime around 7-7:30, i hope.

 

[Dain Bramage]

also: i have the truck halfway in the garage. it would be all the way in, but my parents respective mid life crises are in the way (harleys). is it ok to bolt the bearing cases back on and move it without the diff?

 

[84Toyota4x4]

Ok? Im not so sure. But, it does work. The 4Runner I picked up was loaded onto a trailer this way, and moved around the driveway a couple times like that until I got a rear diff in it.

I would assume it puts a good amount of funky lateral force on the bearings, but it does work.

~T.J.

 

[Dain Bramage]

ok, so here is what i have.

i thought trail gear used yukons? :eeek:

 

[Cascade_Crawler]

get that thing back together!

 

[84Toyota4x4]

That oil looks nasty.

I would wipe the teeth down with a rag and some brake clean. Thats how I found the cracks on mine. I was just trying to clean it up to take it to Crashs when I found them. I ended up just ordering all new gears and an install kit (cost about $230 from Pirate vendors), then having Crash set it up again.

~T.J.