Hey guys. Noticed the front end had a bit of a howl and ive noticed its gotten worse so I checked the fluid (finally) and the fluid was 1.5" low and white.. What are the chances the bearings are still good? Thanks all.

 

something worn...side and pinion bearings growl, irregular worn tires growl, wheel bearings growl, crown and pinion whine. I would run it on a hoist and have a listen with a mechanics stethoscope.

 

Oh I forgot to specify that it only does it 30-45 and does it only when im on the accelerator peddle, if I let off it'll (almost) completely stop the whine. Ive done my fair share of wheel bearings and it doesn't act quite like that.

 

Front end shouldn't be powered while driving on the road, so, applying power making it worse would tend to imply the problem ISN'T in the front end.......

 

Thats a good point, the howling is loud enough to clearly hear that its coming from the front of the truck. I wounder if my frint end usnt disengaging properly. Ive been testing the 4wd latly and fixing all sorts of stuff because im planning on throwing a pkow on it.
Im draining the diff right now and it was like light brown muddy water. Im going to let it drain all night and get to it in the morning.
I replaced the front axle u joint 2 weeks ago if for some reason that would cause anything to happen.

 

Howling under power is usually pinion bearings...... If the gear lube looked that bad, I would be real tempted to tear it down, and have a look at the bearings. Unfortunately, that is NOT a fun exercise...... can be a major pain, and ya gotta get it back together right, or it'll just blow up again.

Check and verify that the t-case actually disengages when you shift to 2 wheel drive.