differential/rear axle noise

[krnrpkt]

I'm sure you all have heard this story before!

With 126,000 miles on my 96 Ranger 4.0L 4x4, extended cab, I'm now getting some rear end noise...sounds like a low growl/whrrr sound starting to be heard around 20 mph and more prominent at 30+ and more pronounced when steering to the left. I do have a slow leak from the rear axle seal on the passenger side and was probably down 1/2 pint to at most 1 pint of gear oil in the differential before I caught fact of the leak.

So, I'm suspecting some damage somewhere in the rear of the truck, maybe a rear axle bearing on the passenger side or a scored axle shaft.

I drained the differential and saw no visible indication of damage inside the housing - no metal particles or chipped gears visible.

I'm thinking of pulling the axles and having not done so before, I had a quesion about the c-clips. After removing the pinion shaft and pusing in the axles to expose the c-clips, are the clips going to be positioned in a way such that they can be removed with needle nose pliers? Is there enough of a lip on the clip to grab onto with pliers or do they need to be pried up a bit with a screwdriver? Do the c-clips rotate around the groove in the axle shaft? Do you need to try to rotate the c-clips so that the opening of the clip is facing down so that they can be removed by lifting up. I just like to know what to expect before starting the job.

Any insight or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks...Jim

 

[4x4junkie]

I would suspect a FRONT wheel bearing if the noise changes when you steer.


To answer your c-clip question, the clips should be loose when you push the axle in. Use a magnetic picker-upper to get them out.
Just hope the crosspin bolt isn't broken when you go to pull it out, big PITA.