Loud growl from Torsen limited slip

[hunternwpines4x4]

Pinion seal went so I replaced it tonight. On the drive home as I got on the freeway, something happened in the pumpkin. I stopped as quick as I could. I limped it the short distance home after putting more gear oil in.

I spun the pinion while the driveline was disconnected out of curiosity, I was told that I should not have done that because it needs to stay aligned. Is this true? If so, what is the problem and how do I go about fixing it? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Also, the fill bolt on the diff was cross threaded. I put it back in as tight as I could. Off the bat I thought it had leaked a bunch out of that plug but when I filled it some more, the noise didn't go away.

Any information is really appreciated.

2003 FX4 Level II
4.0l-Torsen limited slip-Auto tranny

 

[4x4junkie]

Adding oil typically will not make loud growling noises like you describe go away after they start (damage is already done).

Before you removed the pinion nut to replace the seal, did you scribe a mark on it & the pinion shaft so that you could put it back to EXACTLY the same position it was before? If not and you just cranked it back on, then it could be you over torqued the nut and over-preloaded the pinion bearings, causing them to burn up. Depending on the extent of the damage, you may need to replace the ring & pinion gears too due to heat damage.

Best thing at this point is to do a teardown of the axle and see what happened.