I was hoping some one here might be able to answer a Q for me.

I am trying to help a bud out with his truck. His rear diff is howling like mad.
It was just in the shop to have the bearings all replaced.It was what the shop mechanic had told him was the problem so naturally he had them all replaced. His diff is still howling like mad every time he lets go of the accelerator.
Mechanic set it was set up right and he would be best off just replacing the diff, obviously not a rear end specialist.lol
He decided to try and find another diff and just replace it. The only diff we could find is from a two whl drive truck not 4x4. The pinion yokes are different but the gearing and everything else seams to be the same. They are both the same gearing as well.
Question is are the yokes going to swap out?
We plan on changing the the seal but the yokes are different. One has band clamps and the other is round rear flange. The drive shafts are different lengths as well so swapping them won't work.
The length of the pinion bolt appear to be the same but the way the yoke sits on it is different.
He has this type. Not dodge but they appear similar.


and the new diff has




Any ideas would be much appreciated

 

Yokes should swap right out.

If it was howling before, a bunch of work was done, and it is STILL howling... yeah, there's a problem there. Thing is, he just spent a bunch of money, and now he is going to basically just toss it?

Find another shop, that actually has a clue. Sounds like pinion depth, or backlash, really isn't correct. Might be able to fix it with just a shim kit, and some labor. May have to replace gears.

 

Any other other shop is a over 200 miles from here, I wish I could.
It was hard enough just finding a second gen diff for under 500 bucks.
I will try swapping them out.Too bad the bearings are so difficult to remove too.They were pricey.
I have been hesitant to remove the yoke in case it was not a direct swap out.
Thanks for the confirmation.

 

Need an inch/pound torque wrench to swap properly. Measure how much torque it takes to get the pinion to turn. Make note of it. Remove old yolk, change the seal, AND THE CRUSH SLEEVE, torque it down so it requires the same amount of effort to turn it. Should be golden.

 

I have a problem with paying someone to do work and it not being done correctly. I would have my **** parked in owner/shop manager's office until they had the cops drag me out! Either fix it or refund my money!

 

If it howled before.... they simply misdiagnosed it. They MIGHT be able to reset the gears, and quiet it down, but, don't hold your breath.

 

I quit holding my breath years ago. To much stress involved.lol

The other diff is in but we now have to wait for new brake lines and we can try it out. I also want to try and set up the the old diff to see if its not adjusted properly but I am waiting on something to apply to the ring gear to see how it has worn.
My guess is the bad pinion bearing helped the pinion gear to wear funny causing the vibration.
Now at least I hope that happened so all this work wasn't for nothing.lol

Thanks for the help!