Hi all, I have a 98 durango, 5.2 liter. A whine noise been coming from the back for about a month now while accelerating...coasting its fine. While driving to work on the freeway today, the whining got pretty loud then the truck started jerking a little and slowing down even while giving it gas...there was no acceleration. I coasted off the freeway, parked and got out and realized there was light white smoke coming from the differential.

I do have a slow leak coming from where the driveshaft connects to the differential. I moved the truck to a parking spot and it accelerates a little but keeps stopping or jerking...backing up its the same result.

I looked threw forums and couldn't find my same problem. I been working on cars for about 8-9 years now and never had to mess with differentials. Could that whining noise been the cause of the differential malfunction? And how hard is it to fix the bearings if the gears isnt damaged? I'm trying to find pictures of the inside of one but am having no luck.

 

If you have smoke im betting you don't have any or much gear oil back there. Last time i had a problem like that with my diff it was busted teeth on the ring or pinion. If you look on YouTube you can find lots of videos of diff setups. When my pinion bearing went out it just squealed really loud. Don't think that's your problem


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Well, worst case here is that you need a full rebuild... differential are very tricky and unless you have experiance and know what your doing with them i would not recommend learning there...


Honestly it sounds like you had a pinion seal go bad and leaked out most of your fluid. Question is how much damage you did inside running it with low fluid..

If i where you i would take a pan and pop the cover off and do some investigating inside... look for missing teeth or metal shaving or anything that just screams "Help".. If everything checks okay then i would replace the pinion seal and fill it back up..

You may have to fill it with 85-140 weight gear oil... Few months ago i developed a "whine" noise in my 98 rear end... i was sure it was the carrier bearing and when i replaced them they where pretty worn in fact one fell apart in my hand but, when i put it together i still had a small whine... i switched to the thicker oil and a few trips later all noises where gone.

 

Thanks for the suggestions by the way.

What I did was, bought gear oil (85-140) and filled up the diff. Drove it around the parking lot and everything seemed fine. I got it all the way back home but that whining noise is way worse...its very loud. The whine gets low after about 40 mph but its faint. I wanted to at least get it home cause it was parked in a no-park-zone lot.

Once home I checked the diff and oil was everywhere. Oil is mainly around where the driveshaft is. Before I pored in the oil I stuck my finger in to feel for metal chunks...and yea there is metal all around inside.

Everything that happened while driving to work never happened driving home...like the acceleration problems. I guess the oil did the trick but I need it fully fixed. Tomorrow I plan on opening it up and checking the gears. What actually makes the whining sound?...dirt and metal buildup or bad gears?

 

It could be several possibilities ... could be bearings in either the pinion or the carrier, it could be gear noise... you'll never know till you open it up. most important thing is to make sure there is no metal chunks.. If there is metal chunks in there i would stop at nothing less then a full rebuild.

It sounds like a what happend is the pinion seal went out and dropped all the oil out.. having not knowing it you ran the gears dry.. having ran dry the gears you probably did some fatal damage in there .. i would advise you not to drive it anyone to you atleast make sure there is no chunks missing and it safe.

 

i agree with old_school, it sounds to me like you let the differential run dry and the gears ground themselves down causing teeth to break off and jamb up your differential. iwould open it up and look, and not drive it anymore until it is fixed or at least inspected as you could make the problem alot worse.

 

Most likely the pinion nut has backed off. You need to have the rear diff looked at before it leave you stranded.

 

doesnt a full rebuild cost close to like $1,200 though? if thats what you need you might be better off finding a durango with the same gear ratio in a junk yard and just buying a whole axle for alot cheaper! and you could install it yourself.

 

Last diff i messed with i bought ring and pinion, an auburn limited slip and a full rebuild kit. That was around 500 bucks then 300 more for the shop to set them up. Just giving you a rough estimate. Junk yard may be the way to go but even then it may be a gamble unless they warranty the rear for you.


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Mastertech, would you happen to know what size socket the pinion nut that holds the yoke on is?