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front diffferential "growl"

jeffjbar

jeffjbar

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Location
Paducah, KY
Starting hearing a "growl in my front end yesterday and determined that i needed a new hub asembly on front drivers side. There wasn't much play in the wheel but enough to warrant replacing. Finished up and noise is still there. Inspected it a little closer and the sound seems to be coming from the front differential. When the truck is jacked up and I turn the front drivers side wheel I hear it making a grinding noise in the differential. My guess is the carrier bearings are bad and possibly the gears too. This is on a 2000 new body style half ton 5.3 gasser 4X4. Anybody have any advice on how difficult it is to rebuild the differential? Thanks.
 
They are not terribly difficult to rebuild but do requires pullers and press. Also some knowledge on how to set up a diff.
 
I junkyarded one for my wife's old tahoe. Found one that came out of a wreck with 30k on the rig. Roughly the same money as the gears and alot easier.
 
You might have done the wrong side, it happened to me a few times.
 
I thought the same thing and jacked up all 4 wheels and started the truck and ran it in drive and got under it with little noise. Put it in 4wd and got under it and found the noise coming from the front drive shaft. Pulled the drive shaft and it was the rear u joint. Man was I relieved. That noise traveled through it and I swear it sounded like it was coming from the differential. Thanks for the info guys, but thank goodness I don't have to tear into it.
 
You are lucky, most of the noises out of the diffs were due to pitting in the bearing races and spiders. Like said above it is easier to just replace the unit with a low milage piece than rebuild it.
 
Dragging this up, but better to ask those that have experience, haha.

I can "feel" a grinding noise when my truck is in 4wd, but only in 4wd. (I think - and if I "feel" it when in 2wd, its usually just because I just turned off the 4wd and it hasn't fully disengaged.) And by "feel" I mean it seems like I can feel it in my foot, and it seems like I only feel it when I'm acccelerating, too. Bearing? Diff bearing? U-joint? I did drain the front diff, and put in new fluid. Old fluid seemed dark... But I don't recall the grind going away. Wheel bearings seem fine too - no movement in the wheels when jacked up.
 
btfarm said:
Pretty normal to have a little growl in 4wd Forest.
Click to expand...

Good to know guys, thanks. Just wasn't looking forward to rebuilding a front differential. In the long run, I still think it'd be nice to put a locking diff or something up there, just to help me get out of sticky situations, but if I get a winch, I probably wouldn't even worry about that.
 
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