First post here, need some help. My 96 dakota has developed a grinding from the rear when turning. The funky part is it only does it after trips of at least 1hr. The wheel hubs dont get super hot so im inclined to rule out wheel bearings. And i dipped a finger it the rear diff. And the fluid looked fine. Any ideas?

 

When turning the wheels rotate at a different rate...do you have a sure grip rear or limited slip?

 

I have a limited slip. I also noticed the caps to my u-joints are a little orange, so ill probably replace those

 

I have a sure grip rear that I just rebuilt so my experience with a limited slip is well....limited. But thinking about it logically theres spring mechanisms of some sort that allow the axles to rotate at different speeds on turns. If that mechanism has seized I would expect to hear groaning on turns.

 

I figure ill probally flush the fluid in the rear diff and make sure everything looks ok

 

Good idea to flush and refill the diff. Some (most?) limited slip setups require an additive that you put in with the regular gear lube. I had a '95 Ram that I had someone install a limited slip in, and it was making that grinding noise when turning, until I put the LS additive in. No more noise after that, and the LS worked perfectly.