Axle swap and flip kit now have a bearing hum

[Kendellgil]

Swapped a explorer axle with 3.73 and ls into my 97 2wd ranger and now once I get above 25 mph I get a humming droning type noise that is constant unless I make a sweeping right turn it goes away but comes back as soon as I start to turn straight. Could this be a carrier bearing issue? I had like 3.08s or something crazy high in the rear end before so I was thinking maybe the 3.73s spinning the DS faster made the carrier bearing more pronounced?

I do have the carrier bearing shim kit installed for the flip kit and my pinion angle is correctly set with shims.

Axle had brand new syn oil change with friction modifier less then 3,000 miles ago and is still full today just checked the level this am.

Thanks for any help, I never noticed this hum while driving the explorer before I pulled the rear axle out of it, however it's transfer case was locked up so its hard to say I would have noticed the hum in the explorer.

 

[TomB1269]

You most likely have a bad outer wheel bearing on one side of the axle. Is it was carrier or diff related the turning would not make much of a difference. But the outer wheel bearings would have differing loads on them. Check for any fluid around the axle seal on each side.

 

[Kendellgil]

I think it may be the right front wheel bearing, how much wear on the spindle is acceptable before you need to replace it?