650NutKase

I agree with Scorge. Pull the cover off and actually inspect. Sounds a little shady for only 111,000 miles

dantheman723

I think I may hold off on the 2nd opinion and take another look at it this weekend. I have an funny feeling its just the carrier bearing. Im going to pull the whole shaft assembly off this weekend and see if the carrier bearing makes any noise when I spin it.

dantheman723

Well I pulled the driveshaft today. The carrier bearing spins very smoothly without noise and all u-joints look and feel good so I guess the problem is in the rear. I'm going to take it to a local guy that owns a shop and builds race cars on Monday.

I really don't think it makes any sense for me to crack the diff and check things out as I have no idea what I'm looking for LOL. I'm just going to have the shop do it.

I'm hoping its the pinion bearings or whatever. Otherwise I'll have to drop a grand on a used rear and put it in myself.

HubFord

I just searched on car-part.com [junk yard listing online] and found the prices range from about $400 - $800 for a complete 8.8 rear axle assembly. Was not sure what gear ratio you have, there is 3:31, 3:55, and 3:73.

Would a 9.75" bolt up? It looks like on of those can be had for about the same price as the 8.8

dantheman723

I currently have 3.55 gears. I dont think a 9.75 will bolt up without shortening the driveshaft.

dantheman723

UPDATE: Well my truck is fixed. It was either a bad pinion bearing or side carrier bearing. The shop I went to replaced:
Inner pinion bearing w/race
Outer pinion bearing w/race
Side carrier bearing w/race
Crush sleeve
Pinion nut
Pinion seal
Axel seal

Total cost $1325