Bad pinion bearing or seal?

[nvrsunk02]

on my 2002 4.0L 4x4 supercab, I have been having front end noise for a while, but havent been able to figure it out. Changed fluid, checked wheel bearings, and it still does it. Noticed this morning though that there was a puddle underneath my front diff in the driveway. Looks like it is coming out of the pinion side of the diff, especially since everything around the diameter is covered in diff fluid from the driveshaft flinging it around. There does seem to be a little bit of play in the bearing (maybe a milimeter or 2). Could this be the root of my noise? If so, how tough is it to replace the bearings and seals? I cant find any instructions in the Chiltons/Haynes manual. Would there be any problems running the truck if I pulled the front driveshaft out as long as I marked up the alignment before? Thanks!

 

[MAKG]

Yup, sure could be.

Play in the pinion yoke = bad. And it's quite likely to have damaged the gearset as well.

Most cost effective route is to get an entire front pig at the junkyard.

 

[nvrsunk02]

Thats what I was afraid of. Should it have absolutely no play? Will I damage the transfercase if I run the truck without the front driveshaft?

How tough is it to swap out the front end on one of these? Seems pretty tightly packed in there.

 

[4x4junkie]

Yep, should be absolutely no play at all. Having the driveshaft off won't hurt the T-case, but there's a remote possibility of the frontend locking up on you if you continue to drive it the way it is.

As for swapping it out, I've never done it on the SLA IFS, although it's probably more of a time-consuming thing rather than labor-intensive. My guess (without actually looking at it) is you'd have to remove the spindles & shafts on both sides, then drop the axlehousing out through the bottom of the frame (held in with 3 or 4 bolts IIRC).

Make sure the axle you get is the same gear ratio as yours.

 

[nvrsunk02]

Thanks for the response. Reasonable to get it done in a single weekend?

 

[4x4junkie]

I don't see why not. Biggest thing you might run into is bolts frozen with rust.

Good luck on it