rear end whine

I have a 95 silverado 4x4 auto. trans and was wondering if it is normal to have a whine from the rear end Its not loud but it is noticeable. i replaced all the bearings about a hundred miles ago and i really cant tell you if it has always been there cuz i bought the truck used and the rear end made BAD noises. thats why i replaced the bearings, they were worn out. I dont think its the tranny whining, its noticeable about 40 mph and higher but like i said its not loud, just noticeable. with or w/out throttle on but u can kinda hear a litlte pause in the rear end whine if i pump the gas a little. so i think i eliminated the tires.(thats about how loud the whine is, i thought it was the tires). thanks.

Ed

When you say "bearings" which ones do you mean? Pinion bearings and diff. side bearings? The wine is usually created by the ring and pinion gears running together. Putting new bearings in a differential is quite a job getting enough torque on the pinion nut unless you have a lift. I rebuilt my camaro rearend the other day and had to use a 4' long 3/4" breaker bar. That would of been impossible with jack stands. Did you take a tooth pattern? Some gearsets will whine and about all you can do is replace them and hope it helps. It must be loud though if you can hear it in the cab. Vans and cars are worse.

all the bearings in the rear. the tooth pattern is good. i dont think i got the pinion nut tight enuf w/ the new crush sleeve.That is a @#*&$#%@ to tighten. I set the pinion bearing w/ the old crush sleeve, pulled it out and put the new one in and tightend til there was no play( in and out). But I had to assemble the rearend to hold the pinion from turning while torqueing. Unless i got REALLY lucky, the pinion isn't torqued but also does not have any play.

You said it, it is a pain. There is a tool that bolts to the yoke to hold it while you tighten the nut. But if the tooth pattern is good and it still whines there may not be much that can be done without putting in a new ring and pinion gear. My camaro still whines but I don't feel like spending the money so I got the tooth pattern as good as I could. I have about .022" backlash which is a hell of alot but I think the gears had been running together too long incorrectly to get any better.

I was told that if the ring and pinion aren't set right and it has a whine then the whine would change tones between the throttle on and throttle off. Supposedly it would be noticeably different. My whine is the same, w/ or w/out throttle on. I never measured my backlash but I'm pretty sure its not nearing a quarter inch like yours. Its gotta make a hell of a clink if you pump the gas. I had an 87 camaro, never checked the rearend but it did have noticeable slop in it. It was a 5 spd. so I could really notice it in 1st gear playing around w/ it.

I've got an 89. The rearend started whining two wks after I bought it. Long story short, the ring and pinion were grinded down as sharp as a razor. I took a chance on a gently used set from ebay ($65), replaced the pinion bearing, and repacked the other bearings. It worked fine. Been going for a year with no prob. Just make sure you order the right ring diameter and gear ratios.