[lifebythehorns]

I believe its going out, I get a really loud annoying whine/drone at anywhere from 40-75 mph. Or could it just be the 4:10's? either way anyone know where to buy what I need to fix it?

 

[bobdodge]

Yeah any napa or the like will have what you need or and gear or possibly transmission shop will have it also. They are not the easiest things to replace. But by the sounds of it you need new bearings. How many miles do you have on that thing? When was the last time you changed out your diff fluids? Do you tow a lot? You could have burnt up the bearings by overheating the diffs, or just old fluid that lost its lube propertys. You will want to get that taken care of quick if you don't you risk tearing up your gears and thats gonna cost quite a bit more to replace.

 

[1JP]

Have you checked the level? Is it down? Do you know if you're leaking diff fluid? You could be and not really know. If one of the axle seals at the end of the axle tube is shot, it leaks onto the backside of the rim. Some even gets baked off on the brakes. Just some food for thought.

 

[Ern2124]

We had a truck at work that made a real loud whine going down the interstate. Took it to a shop and got new bearings out in it and it quit.

 

[lifebythehorns]

its got 90k on it. I just had it serviced and they checked all fluids, said it was fine. I dont tow alot, maybe a flatbed 3 or 4 times a year and a 7000 lb trailer twice a year tops. How expensive are the bearings and can I replace them? thanks alot....

 

[Ern2124]

truck we had was a 01 chevy crew cab with like a 10ft mechanics bed and hyrails it's pretty heavy piece and had about 120k on it. I'm not sure about a price on the bearings. Might want to try randys ring and pinion they were pretty reasonable when i bought a bunch of stuff off of them a few years back. The bearings will have to be pressed off and on. If there are shims make sure you keep track of which side they are on.

 

[bobdodge]

The bearings will have to be pressed off and on. If there are shims make sure you keep track of which side they are on.

Also I am not 100% positive since I have not messed with these aam axles but you may need a spreader, just be sure to spread with in specs or you will rish warping your axle housing.

If you do end up needing new gears get a book and you can look up the part # and it will give you the shim offsets to get you pretty damn close. Actually it has always put me with in specs, it will save you a lot of time and hassle. Look into running a good synthetic gear lube like Amsoil severe gear.

I know this is starting to sound scarey but it really isn't if you have a book and follow the specs sheets. I think the hardest thing is pressing the bearings on and off. Its really difficult to press off the bearings w/o messing up the shims. If you do mess them up don't just trash them at first keep track of where they came from and check the gauge of each one. Then you can just get a shim kit and replace them with what was there. Last time I bought bearings I think I spent between $50-$75 with a shim kit. I always get a shim kit because I usually mess them up getting the old bearings off.

 

[lifebythehorns]

wow this sounds pretty involved. The price is alot less than I expected but Im not so sure I can do it. I have a basic knowledge of working on my own stuff but I dont think I have all stuff required. I think I will see what a shop will do it for before diving in. thank you for all your help:thumbsup

 

[bobdodge]

Check out quad4x4.com and you can get an idea of tools and book I was talking about. I don't think they have much in the way of things for the aam axles but it will give you a good idea of what your looking at.

 

[grandpapa]

I think a month ago, somebody had the same problem. the big nut on the pinion shaft was lose? Do a search on aam axles?????

 

[bobdodge]

If your pinion nut is loose you are gonna want to check everything out, that will put added stress on the pinion bearing and could chip, or grind down your gear teeth since that would take the gear assembly out of specs.