Sounds like a chipped ring gear tooth in your rear...

 

Ok first off he means remove the front axle "cover" meaning to remove the cover from the front side of the axle to inspect for metal shavings. Same with the back. You can remove the bolts on the cover and the gear oil and all will come out and you can inspect the gears and such inside the housing. Dakman is right most likely.

 

After I got the driveshafts reinstalled, I started it up and ran the engine at low speed (still on the axle stands).

The same horrible sound came clearly from the rear end.

I removed the plate from the differential (catching MOST of the oil) and the gears in there were obviously screwed. The big gear and the one it mates with on the end of the driveshaft (crown & pinion?) looked fine but at least two of the gears inside the box were missing teeth.

I had it towed to my mechanic this morning (I ran out of time to fix anything else myself), and I'll probably get an estimate from him tomorrow.


Thank you all for your guidance and suggestions. I've learned a lot about my drivetrain.

 

Ouch.

At least you know what is wrong.

The carrier can be replaced or rebuilt. At least the other gears appear good so far.

Was it a limited slip?

Keep us posted.

 

The gear that attached to the driveshaft and mates with the ring gear(big gear) is the pinion gear just FYI. Hope the damage isnt too bad

 

The smaller gears inside the differential, Maybe 2" diameter, are the spider gears. The question is what caused them to fail? Anything on the magnet, at the bottom of the pumpkin??? Other than the busted gear....