I have a 2001 qc 4x4 4.7l 5 speed. Well for awhile now my truck has been making a weird loud whining sound. It only does it on deceleration and will go a way when i press the clutch in. and recently it started to leak from the front of the diff i cant really pin point it. i can also move my drive shaft and pinion, not rotating but side to side. I was thinking the noise was coming from the crappy flowmaster thats on there but the leak and pinion movement has me worried. any thoughts on what might be going on? any help is appreciated.

 

also when driving everything seems fine no vibration or sound it only does it when i let off the gas while the clutch is engaged. and it doesnt do it as much at lower speeds.

 

get it to a GOOD shop FAST.

 

I was thinkin of that but i dont have the cash to do it. would gettin a salvage rear end be worth saving a couple hundred?? this is my daily driver and i sure dont need it to fail. thanks.

 

It's your pinion bearing. I just had to replace mine about a month ago, had the exact same symptoms and I guess its common on Dakotas. Cost me close to $1000 to have a shop rebuild the rear end. It would be way cheaper to get a rear end from a junk yard. I just don't have anywhere to work on my truck here so I had to have a shop do it.

 

would it be a pain in the rear(no pun intended) if i just replaced the pinion bearing? can i just put everything back together with the same shims and what not? or does the whole rear end have to be rebuilt with new shims and all new bearings ? thanks

 

You should be able to replace the bearings and reuse the pinion shim. Check the backlash before you take it apart (assuming the pinion bearings aren't so bad that they allow play in the pinion) and reset to the same when you're done. And be sure to check the pattern after you put it all back together, just to be sure.

Also, make sure you check the carrier bearings for pitting or other damage. If they're in good shape, it's not necessary to replace them.

 

thanks for all the help. i think i might call around and see about another rear. i have never tore into a rear end before and dont wanna screw it up. any thing special to look for when looking at salvaged rears?

 

just be sure its the same size. ie 8 1/4, or 9 1/4. a different size might change the drive shaft length. the easiest way is to count the number of bolts in the rear cover. and be sure you use the same size brakes, wheel cylinder. else the anti-lock system will not work right. and ABOVE ALL use anti-seize compound on ALL bolts, and mostly the brake tubing nuts, 100k miles later youll thank me.

 

Make sure you get the same ratio you have in the front. Rotate the pinion yoke by hand and feel for roughness. If you can, remove the cover and look for chunks of metal on the magnet, broken teeth, broken clutch plates (limited slip), etc.