well, unless you have x-ray vision, you have to pull the cover. you don't need to pull the trans to pull the cover but removing the reinforcement plate on the crossmember will help with clearance. if it's fine then you only wasted time verifying you don't have a problem then move on to the next possiblity, if it is the problem, you'll need to drop the trans or remove the entire crossmember. I prefer to remove the trans since it only takes me 1½ - 2hrs to R&R.

 

Thanks for the info, sounds like you know ur stuff, I really appreciate it

 

Well I pulled the diff cover tonight and have no problem with the roll pin that I can see. Spider gears, roll pin, diff gear all look good. So what are the other possiblilities of what would be causing the grinding noise. It also had a somewhat pulsating feel to the grinding. As I had the diff cover off I spun the diff gear in neutral, and the spider gears, everything felt smooth and no grinding. What else could it be?

 

wheel bearing, brakes, planetary gears in trans, axle shaft hitting something?

goes to show without expert analysis, internet isn't much more than a guessing game. HUGE problem for accurate diagnosis.

 

I took the pinion gear housing off the pass side and noticed the outer seal is missing, and it looks like it may have gotten hot. If seal is missing would it cause any problems other than leaking? I was thinking of just cleaning my housing off of the old tranny and using it, does that present any possible problems?