Going back to my front differential problem, it was howling quite a bit but nobody could figure out that it was the front end until the pinion wouldn't mesh with the ring anymore. The initial culprit was the passenger side carrier bearing which eventually took out the entire carrier, caps, and the ring and pinion. The only item I was able to reuse was the housing. The diff fluid looked perfect and the truck had 79K miles on it. My gas mileage went up after getting it fixed.

I explained what the symptoms where on my initial post below. This in the ONLY issue with a front differential I've ever found on this forum. Lucky me!!

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...es-a-quiz.html

 

66Proof-
mine was making some significant howling that varied only slighlty with load. If I were you I'd pop the front diff cover and run a magnet through your fluid and see what you find. The front cover is sealed with silicone from the factory. At least you can rule it out.......

 

Yep, unless I heard the sound coming straight from the front diff, would have been the last place I looked. Contrary to what is commonly discussed, the AAM diffs are VERY solid, hell I'd prolly even say as or more solid than a Dana of the same diameter. The only reason why so many rears fail is because of the stupid C-clips in the LSD, not the diffs themselves.
You never hear of any front end issues because as an IFS, no front LSD.

At least you can take solace in the fact that it wasn't one of the common issues with these trucks that nail everyone else...

 

Nasty pics right there. The bearing cap is chewed up

 

Thanks for the information, I think i will change the transfercase fluid, before i take it to the dealership.

 

You can see the damage to the ring in pinion too. There was so much play when we took the cover off you could see the roller bearings when prying the carrier to the pass side. The shop said it was probably set up too tight from the factory. These are set up by machine at the factory with no final check befor being installed.

 

I had the truck at the dealer yesterday to have it looked at, they said i needed 4 new tires and that my front right was cupping. It does have 77,000 KM on the tires.
Estimate for 4 new tires installed $1285.00. I did not have the tires replaced. pretty sure i can find a better deal.
In the mean time the dealer took my front right tire and placed it on the right rear. The right rear was placed on the right front.
The dealer said that any noise or grinding went away after the tires were moved.
I havent really had a chance to drive it yet, i will post again once i know what changed. Total cost for moving the tires $39.00.