Bad rearend????????

[V8killR4U]

Well I've noticed this low/medium pitched "howling" noise coming from the rear of the car. I'm suspecting its something in the rear end? Ive owned this car for several years and never had any work done to the rearend. During this time the rearend has been making this noise, Ive had new motors and new transmissions, so I dont think it has anything to do with that.

Is it time for a rebuild?
Where should I start?
What does a rebuild consist of and how much can I expect to spend?

Thanks

 

[Silver Fox]

Well I've noticed this low/medium pitched "howling" noise coming from the rear of the car. I'm suspecting its something in the rear end? Ive owned this car for several years and never had any work done to the rearend. During this time the rearend has been making this noise, Ive had new motors and new transmissions, so I dont think it has anything to do with that.

Is it time for a rebuild?
Where should I start?
What does a rebuild consist of and how much can I expect to spend?

Thanks

Possibly axle bearings.

 

[jhanson1750]

Pop the cover and take a look. If the gearing looks good then like stated above bearings. Jon Hanson

 

[Daniel Jost]

i second the rear axle bearings, that or carrier bearings!
,Dan

 

[Rottydogg84GN]

Like it was said before you need to pop the cover and look at the fluid. what i mean is what color it is and the smeel of it. Graish color is a sign of bearings going out and you need to look at the ring gear how it rides on the pinon gear. after you clean the oil from the rear end there is fluid called bluing that you would put on the gears and rotate the pinon then you could see where the ring is riding on the pinon. it should be riding in the middle of the ring. also you could get a dial indicator ond check out the back lash and see if there is any play in the bearings.Sorry so long but that is how i found out my truck rear end was going out. Good luck on the rear end just hope you have to re-shim it and not replace bearings

 

[Rottydogg84GN]

if you have a GM shop buy U you go and talk to a mech and ask him to check it out on his off time and he might look at it for a few bucks

 

[V8killR4U]

What would i be looking at as far as cost to get the axle/carrier bearing replaced, or simply a general rebuild ?

 

[bkoons]

Noise due to worn carrier and pinion bearings will change pitch or amplitude between acceleration and coasting condition. Wheel bearing noise changes with wheel load. Accelerate the car between 35 and 45 with the shift lever in D and then let off the gas and decelerate. Do this again but shift to neutral to decelerate. If the noise changes significantly it is likely the center section. Check the wheel bearings by turning at moderate speed under steady throttle load. If the noise changes significantly when turning the problem may just be the wheel bearings.

 

[chopped39]

What would i be looking at as far as cost to get the axle/carrier bearing replaced, or simply a general rebuild ?

Depends who does it. Most shops will charge between 4 and 6 hours labor. Looking at what is done to your car now might be the time to upgrade to maybe 30 spline axles and a stronger carrier. If you buy an install kit from jegs or summit they run between $70.00 and $130.00 that comes with all seals and bearings needed to rebuild complete axle. good luck

 

[V8killR4U]

Noise due to worn carrier and pinion bearings will change pitch or amplitude between acceleration and coasting condition. Wheel bearing noise changes with wheel load. Accelerate the car between 35 and 45 with the shift lever in D and then let off the gas and decelerate. Do this again but shift to neutral to decelerate. If the noise changes significantly it is likely the center section. Check the wheel bearings by turning at moderate speed under steady throttle load. If the noise changes significantly when turning the problem may just be the wheel bearings.

What you describe is pretty close to my symptoms with regards to the noise under acceleration and coasting.

 

[V8killR4U]

Depends who does it. Most shops will charge between 4 and 6 hours labor. Looking at what is done to your car now might be the time to upgrade to maybe 30 spline axles and a stronger carrier. If you buy an install kit from jegs or summit they run between $70.00 and $130.00 that comes with all seals and bearings needed to rebuild complete axle. good luck

So you thinking around $500 to get the rearend rebuilt, labor and parts.
When i say rebuild, Im thinking about all new bearings and seals to fix the worn carrier and pinion bearing and any other bearing; is that a good assumption?

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Axle brgs ride directly on the axle, and may have eaten up the wear surface on the axle.
When you inspect the gears, pull the cross pin bolt, and take the axles out. Look at the wear patterns...

 

[V8killR4U]

Any opinions on price range i should be looking at?
Labor hours / parts?

 

[TURBOV8R]

I had the axle done in mine recently.Grab the driveshaft and check if you have any lateral play,in other terms does is wiggle around in the nose of the pumpkin?
If so the pinion brg. is wiped also you may have some oil in the area due to the fact that the seal was also comprimised.More than likely the pinion is riding for and aft into the ring gear causing wear. My axle brgs.were howling when turning and as stated b-4 groaning while deaccelerating. I paid with a trans fluid change,aftermarket girdle cover,gears,seals,brgs and so forth $1200. Some assembly required your parents put it together.:biggrin: Good luck!

 

[BlackBandit]

Well, if I was you I'd pop off the drive shaft off the rear end and put a socket on the pinion nut. Odds are it lost it's preload and you'd be able to turn if fairly easily. If that's the case you can take off the rear cover and set up a dial indicator to measure lash, get a new pinion nut and tighten it down until the lash is right. If you don't have a dial indicator just go until you have just about 1/2-3/4 of a RCH. This isn't the best way to do it but if you don't have the time/money to do a full rebuild it's better than nothing. FWIW I did this to mine about 10k miles ago and it still doesn't make noise. Now, there's some things that would make this not work like if your crush sleeve is f'd or the carrier bearings are f'd but it's worth a shot. I did it because I didn't want to builld mine with cheap stuff (because I was broke) so I wanted to buy some time. Good luck. james

 

[Just a Six??]

How old is the fluid?? You could try adding a bottle of GM Posi Additive for about $6 & see if that helps. Shut up mine years ago.

 

[YI_work]

Hey Jovi did you have Scott fix it today? I was at his house on Wed. when you were on the phone with him. I tried to call you afterwards but I have your old cell number. scott just did an 8.8 for a Mustang project I have started

Mike

 

[wilkinsde]

I did a search finding these posts. I'm having rear-end noise issues that have gotten progressively worse, significantly so after a couple of hard launches. The noise is at its worst around 35 MPH with the foot lightly on the accelerator. Noise quits when lifting off the pedal. I had the rear-end checked with the fluid changed (posi-fluid was added) about a year ago. Does problem described sound like the ring and pinion? Does anyone know of a link describing how to remove the rear-end, as I believe I could remove it my self with instructions and take it to someone qualified to rebuild. Thank you for any help provided.

 

[GNeric]

Re shimming it means new bearing time. If you need to add shims, then the bearing to race dimension has changed and will continue to change. Dial indicator for back lash is the clearance between the pinion and ring gear.

Like it was said before you need to pop the cover and look at the fluid. what i mean is what color it is and the smeel of it. Graish color is a sign of bearings going out and you need to look at the ring gear how it rides on the pinon gear. after you clean the oil from the rear end there is fluid called bluing that you would put on the gears and rotate the pinon then you could see where the ring is riding on the pinon. it should be riding in the middle of the ring. also you could get a dial indicator ond check out the back lash and see if there is any play in the bearings.Sorry so long but that is how i found out my truck rear end was going out. Good luck on the rear end just hope you have to re-shim it and not replace bearings

 

[GNeric]

This is a crush sleeve issue and tightening it down until lash is righ is wrong. This preloads the pinion bearing and bearings have a general spec of 15in.lbs. of turning torque for used bearings and 25in.lbs for new bearings. Over tightening them will blue them and over heat them. This needs to be done right. You can tighten the pinion nut back down to where it is just taken the play out of the pinion but it is best to disassemble and do it right vs bandaid it and causing more damage down the road. Sometimes it works and sometimes it won't.

Well, if I was you I'd pop off the drive shaft off the rear end and put a socket on the pinion nut. Odds are it lost it's preload and you'd be able to turn if fairly easily. If that's the case you can take off the rear cover and set up a dial indicator to measure lash, get a new pinion nut and tighten it down until the lash is right. If you don't have a dial indicator just go until you have just about 1/2-3/4 of a RCH. This isn't the best way to do it but if you don't have the time/money to do a full rebuild it's better than nothing. FWIW I did this to mine about 10k miles ago and it still doesn't make noise. Now, there's some things that would make this not work like if your crush sleeve is f'd or the carrier bearings are f'd but it's worth a shot. I did it because I didn't want to builld mine with cheap stuff (because I was broke) so I wanted to buy some time. Good luck. james