Pinion bearing going bad, even though no play?

[cmattina]

So I had my clutch done after pulling a smaller trailer on a clutch that was on its way out (though that is another story)

Anyways, once I got it back I had some bad rear end "whirring" noise, one might say rubbing. All i know is it is most noticeable at low speeds, but speeds up with the rear wheels.

I brought it to the place that did the clutch (not a tranny shop) and they confirmed it was coming from the rear, and specified the diff. They said, 'maybe a pinion bearing'. They checked the fluid and said it looked dirty, though I had it changed with a bent axle 6 months ago...

There is zero play (up and down/in and out), though the diff itself was getting pretty warm after about 10 miles of driving (city and highway).

I am probably going to get a second opinion from a shop that specialized in this stuff.

The odd thing is there is absolutely no play? Could pulling the trailer have kills my bearing and clutch?

I dunno. Old question, rear end swap, I have axle code "87" so it is 4.10, 7.5 ring gear and is open. Can i put any other 4.10 in there or do the ring gears need to be the same too?

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

A bad bearing does not mean there will be play...they surfaces can be starting to pit/gall causing the noise. Most bearing failures are from bearings that are too tight, rather than loose.

 

[cmattina]

Yeah, hear ya there. I guess it was just hard to find a youtube video with the noise that didn't come along with it being super loose.

 

[kcm1582]

I have seen a few that were tight but had a small pitted section on the race that made quite a bit of noise. I doubt pulling a trailer killed the bearings, lack of lubrication from either low or degraded fluid, or water contamination is much more likely a cause if the bearings weren't over tightened. As for an axle swap, a 4.10 8.8 would be a pretty easy upgrade if you can find one.