Got it all apart today. Looks like whoever took it apart last didnt tighten it to specs. The bearing caps and the side adjusters were almost hand tight. Does anyone know if I can take the side adjusters off to easily clean the axle tubes? They have about a 1/4 inch of gunk on the bottom.

 

Since you have to reset everything anyway, loosen the bearing caps, and the adjusters should turn out. May need the neat wrench to do it though.

 

I have the wrench (or tube with a big nut on the end). So I can take those out completely? Yeah, I'm completely resetting the preload and backlash according to this awesome classic video:

The pinion seems very snug and will not budge at all, so I'm ok there. The gear pattern was nearly on center, but slightly toward the rear of the ring gear. I'm hoping resetting the preload and backlash helps this. Looks like the PO replaced the ring and pinion before due to severe pinion slop. I say this because the old carrier has nasty gash marks on it that could only have come by it slapping the pinion. The pinion and ring gear however are perfectly fine with no marks. So basically he reused a bad carrier that is probably way out of balance. I may post some pics later of the carrier. It has small chunks missing from it in some spots. My theory is, he either didn't re-torque everything correctly, or he did but the out of balance carrier loosened things up over time. I'm hoping by some stroke of luck that the pinion was installed correctly. So far, I'm not 100% sure.

 

Once the carrier is removed, you can screw the adjusters all the way in to remove them.

 

Awesome, thank you.

Here's a pic of the carrier damage:

 

Hhhmmm.... not sure I would trust reinstalling that......

 

Looks like another addition for the scrap metal pile.

 

Yeah, it's a shame the PO reinstalled it. I just finished sealing everything up with the new (used and rebuilt) trac lok carrier. Has Timken carrier bearings and races as well. I also replaced the axle bearings and seals. Basically everything was gone through except the pinion. This was my first time tearing into a diff besides oil changes. It wasn't all that bad. I got the backlash set according to factory specs and everything torqued to spec. Of course, the last bolt going in (side adjuster lock) snapped while torquing it. Had to make a quick Lowe's run for another after drilling it out. They are 1/4-20-1/2 btw. The rtv is drying overnight, and I will fill it with fluid in the morning and cross my fingers and toes it works beautifully.

 

All finished up, and installed some used Bilsteins. It runs great. No more whining and it spins both wheels.

 

Cool. Congrats! Drive it for a while, and make sure it stays quiet. If it does, you are most likely golden.