Interesting. I have a Dana 60 HD disc brake rear out of a 2001 Ram 2500 that ate a pinion bearing, however, the most likely cause for that was being low on gear oil due to a seal leak. Since the truck was owned by the state of Virginia, I'm certain that maintenance was not a high priority.

 

The pinion seal went out the first time the whirring happened. It left a mess underneath the truck, but I did check the fluid level everyday until I replaced them both. Afterwards, it would come back, but as a dull whine. I'd check the fluid and it would still be at the right height.



So far, so good. I got the axle underneath the truck and lined it up center as best I could.

 

One thing I forgot to check was the u-joint sizing. My driveshaft uses a 1410, the 10.25" uses a 1350.
For future reference to anyone wanting to do this, a conversion u-joint will be needed. Infact, the part number is 2-1435 or colloquially known as a 1435 u-joint. That's only half the battle now.

My driveshaft pushed all the way into the transfer case has bottomed out and cant travel any further back to clear the yoke on the new axle. A minor setback, but I might have to shorten the shaft and change the u-joint on it as well.

 

Good news and thankfully everything is coming together. I took the driveshaft to get shortened and have a different style u-joint put in, but that won't be ready til later.

Moving on, I got the axle set at the proper pinion angle and tightened up the bolts. Then, I got right to welding the perches back on.