Hey guys. Got a noise coming from my truck. Seems to be the worst at 30kms and 60kms an hour. Sounds like a dull grinding noise. Its hard to tell exactly where its coming from but im thinking a bearing is bad in the rear axle. Has anyone done axle rebuilds? Would this be a good place to start to figur out whats bad?
noise is the same in both 2wd and 4wd.
Im going to change out the universal joints at the same time.

Truck is a 1995 dakota 4X4. 5.2L SLT club cab.

Any help would be awesome. Thanks!

 

Most of us at one time or another have replaced our axle seals. It's not a hard job other than the locking pin on the differential can be a bitch and often strips out. I had to weld a wrench onto mine as the head became so rounded. Get the repair bearings which extend out from the axle shaft a bit. Makes getting the c clamps back on a little more difficult but worth it. Then just be sure to fill back up with correct differential fluid. There's several youtube videos that show the process.
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Thanks for the info! Is it worth rebuilding the diff gears as well? or is the outer bearings more prone to wearing out? Is there a way to tell what bearing is bad before even starting? Im not even sure if this is where the noise is coming from but need to start somewhere. Seems to be getting worse...

 

Go for a drive on a road that doesn't see much traffic. get up to about 25mph or so, and then turn HARD from side to side. See if the noise gets louder turning in one direction, or the other. If it does, the bearing on the OUTSIDE of the turn is the one that's bad. (although, if one is bad, sure wouldn't hurt to replace both.....) if the carrier bearings and such aren't making noise, leave 'em be.