cwhopf

Check out these pictures showing drive and coast side of the ring gear teeth. The contact pattern looks a little deep to me, but I would like some more opinions on this.

The car has 53000 miles. I have noticed a howling noise from the rear getting progressively louder for about four months now. It is now louder at highway speeds than my exhaust. It seems to be loudest when power is applied and quiets down when I coast. I am sure the drag radials have brought this on sooner than regular radials.

Chris

alamantia

iTrader: (10)

yeah, that dont look so hot, from what i see in the pics it looks like the accel side of the tooth isnt bad but the decel side looks a bit gawled

Necction

Im having the Identical problem as you. and i mean IDENTICAL. Now today my rear end is in pieces and the mechanic says that its the bearings that are the cause. I dont know much about the stuff myself but even to me my inner bearings look pretty messed.

Also I should note that there is no visible damage whatsoever on my ring&pinion.

Someone more knowledgable throw in your comment. But right this moment im having the bearings changed. Inner and outer.

alamantia

iTrader: (10)

Bad berings can cause whine without destroying the ring and pinion, the pictures clearly show a irregular wear pattern on the ring gear. That does not necessaraly have anything to do with the berings

SScam68

iTrader: (20)

Yeah, thats what my cover looked like.

Yank the differential, I am willing to put money it's the bearings. Gears look fine.

Scott@DrivelineSolutions

iTrader: (22)

I would say it's time for a rebearing job and the gear looks fine to me.

alamantia

iTrader: (10)

I have seen some of scott's posts in the past, he is quite knowlegable, maybe I am not seeint the picture correctly on my crappy monitor but on the toe of the decell (or coast) side of the ring gear it looks as if there are chamfers in the tooth created by an irregular wear. The pattern should be in the middle of the tooth like on this diagram

http://www.ford-trucks.com/article/i...ear_Setup.html

Again, it could be my monitor, but it does not look to me like the pattern is in the middle. Any experianced mechanic will be able to tell you right away for sure. Good luck

cwhopf

Thanks for the input guys.

Scott,
I have set up a rear end from scratch before, but without changing anything but the bearings, would I need to revisit the pinion depth, or just set it up with the original shims and check the contact pattern, backlash and preload? I may decide to try a 3.73 or 4.10 while I am in there anyways.

Thanks,
Chris

alamantia

iTrader: (10)

its always good to recheck everything, not every bering is made exactly the same, they are manufacutred with tolerances. Its always good to check the pinion depth, i would get a reading before you remove the pinion umless its an after market pinion and the depth scribed or marked on it is still visable.

Scott@DrivelineSolutions

iTrader: (22)

I have only had to make a shim change if the bearings are a diferent manufacture. Say like if Timken are in there now and you get Koyo's or Clark.

Necction

Well my bearings have all been changed. The car is completly silent.

Just thought id let you know the outcome of my ordeal since you re having the exact same problem.

Peace

ls1n00b

iTrader: (14)

will the whine stop if you replace the bearings? Im about to purchase an ls1 tomorrow and its making the same whine, quite annoying...is it an expensive fix? thinking of taking it to a shop..any recomendations?

Necction

Well it cost me 800 CAD (600 USD)to have all 6 of the bearings changed. Wouldnt say its a cheap fix. Hopefully I didnt get ripped off. But they did have to take the rear end completly apart to get to the bearings. Also this isnt the be all end all fix to rear end whine. It could still be the gears or the pinion or what not. But in my case it was the bearings and the sound my rear end made was the same as described above.

SScam68

iTrader: (20)

Yes is should stop. Mine was pretty bad and i'm happy that it was an easy fix.

If you're mechanically inclined and have a access to a press it all comes down to parts. Parts are "cheap" compared to the labor you're going to pay. Any decent shop should be able to knock it out quickly.

Scott@DrivelineSolutions

iTrader: (22)

WOW, I need to raise my prices. I would have only charged $95.00 for the bearing kit and $175.00 labor for that job.

cwhopf

Are the OE bearings Timken?

Scott@DrivelineSolutions

iTrader: (22)

Yes, GM and Chrysler use Timken only. Ford uses Koyo's in some of their builds.

cwhopf

Thanks Scott. I may be in touch in the near future for some parts.

chicane

I'll second that. I charge the same as you do. But, an in car bearing overhaul for $600.... ?? Maybe we should go in on a small shop in Canada Eh ??

Scott@DrivelineSolutions

iTrader: (22)

We should look for a spot near a beach so we can watch all the topless women go by. But we might not get too much done! LOL.