Howl from rear end

[durrell]

I seem to have a howl coming from the rear end. I'd call it a whine, but howl seems more appropriate. I assume it's the rear diff, but don't know what could cause it or of it could be serious. The diff oil was changed by me probably 5k miles ago with Redline gear oil. It doesn't happen until 50MPH, then it is a steady howl.

Any ideas?

 

[theizzardking]

check the rear diff seal and see if your breather is clogged, beyond that if it truly is coming from the 3rd member your looking at new gears if a fluid change didn't help and the seal and breather is good, alt. it could be the wheel bearing which is quite a bit cheaper to fix and easier to do. only way to check this is to pull the wheel off and have a look, you maybe able to spin the wheel by hand and see how freely it moves as well but this would be harder to tell if anything is wrong.


the above is just a feeling i got so wait for others to chime in before you go out and blow cash on anything, but i've had this thing happen loads of times on other trucks (ahem *heeps*eer i mean *jeeps*) and it always was the wheel bearings for the most part.

 

[durrell]

Yeah, I haven't checked the wheel bearings. At 164k miles, I assume it could be. I'll wait for some others to chime in, as I can't do anything yet anyway.

 

[driffter33]

My runner had a rear end howl/ whine at about 90,000 mile pulled it apart and checked it out it was one of the pinion bearings the input bearing if I remember right that was 3-4 years ago I replaced the pinion bearings and crush sleeve I'm now at 120,000 miles and all is good it was over $100 for the parts at napa

 

[durrell]

Any other ideas?

 

[Izanewman]

I had this problem. It was the pinion bearing in the rear differential. It is extremely difficult to replace and therefore most folks order a new "third member". A replacement differential at the dealership is over 1000 bucks. I found a salvaged one for 200 and had it installed for under 200.

 

[theizzardking]

well that's 2 votes for the pinion bearing......and one for a wheel bearing..

you should give this a read i found it very helpful when trying to figure this stuff out when i was having problems with my whining,

Diagnosing Drivetrain Noise

that said if this tends to be common enough which i think it maybe , the pinion bearing might just be the right answer, if that's the case you should just re-gear at that point you can probably get new ring and pinion for front and rear for 1K

 

[durrell]

Ugh, another [expensive] problem. I'm at the point where it's just not making sense to spend any more money on this thing.

 

[durrell]

It is the pinion bearing according to the shop.

It would cost over 700 to replace with labor. Sigh.

 

[brian2sun]

You should be able to get a used 3rd for $200-300 at a salvage yard and they're pretty easy to R&R yourself. You need to make sure you get the right gear ratio to match the front diff though (most are 4.10)

 

[durrell]

Judging by the gear ratio page on SS, my ratio is 4.10. I'd love to find an e-locker..

I'm not terribly concerned, as I've dealt with this same problem on a Jeep before and it really wasn't a really threatening problem. Doesn't really matter at this point if it eventually leads to a blown rear diff, as I'm likely going to end up replacing the entire third member anyway (if I replace it at all).

Anyway, thanks for the help guys. As usual, you were spot-on.

 

[rjaudi]

If you find a third member from a prerunner tacoma they will have an e-locker and 4.10 gears. Problems are always an excuse to modify things.

 

[Rockdawg84]

Absolutely find a used 3rd and put it in your self. Actually it can be any 3rd from any toy v6 with 4.10's to replace stock or find a elocker from taco, taco prerunner, or 4runner and your good to go. get the wiring from inchworm and do the whole thing your self. good luck. :surfer:

 

[Anayalator]

Just got the quote

Got the bad news from the shop today about the same whine/howl. Granted, mine an open 2wd, they said the price of 1690.00 included the replacement of the open carrier with a posi unit, replacing the bearings, seals, and flange.

I don't have a lot of experience with trucks/Toyotas, but I have had that entire rear end replaced in a couple of f-bodies at the tune of $175 for the ENTIRE rear end and then $350 labor to put it in.

Can any of you chime in on finding a direct replacement?

 

[T4R2014]

I don't have a lot of experience with trucks/Toyotas, but I have had that entire rear end replaced in a couple of f-bodies at the tune of $175 for the ENTIRE rear end and then $350 labor to put it in.

Find the guy that did the job in your f-body, because that price is a steal.

 

[kolelt]

Shouldn’t need to replace the gears. It’s the bearings. No matter what bearing it is. All bearings in the carrier should get replaced. The rebuild kit is under $300 with quality bearings. The rest is labor. It takes about good hour to get the 3rd member out. And couple hours to swap bearings. Need a press for pinion bearing.