Rear end noise diagnosis. Help!

so I haven't posted on here in a while but how is everyone. So for about a month my rear end has been making the whirring sound so for about a month my rear end has been making the whirring sound. On acceleration, deceleration, coasting. I check my fluid in my third member and it is fine also about three months ago I had the pinion seal redone. Here is a video of my driveshaft and the carrier bearing. Now my question is should my driveshaft have this much playing it when in park and should my Carrier bearing have this much play as well I the video. I have already jacked the truck up and put it in drive off the ground but I cannot pinpoint whether it's the carrier bearing that's bad or the Pinion bearing is bad or something in the third member. It is starting to get loud which is worrying me so I need help narrowing it down if anyone thinks that my carrier bearing is bad then I'm going to start with that. This isn't the original carrier bearing though. Here is the video. http://youtu.be/Gj6lO9rDenc

 

looks like your rear end bud.

 

Yeah I think it is my rear end. I'm guessing the pinion bearing.

 

Jack your rear end up off the ground and run your truck at idle in a fwd gear. Try to duplicate the noise on the jack stands with the truck in the air. If it sounds like one side over the other, stop one wheel from turning and listen. Then stop the other wheel from turning and listen. Some growling from the spider gears is normal, but pay close attention to the wheel bearings... I was recently fooled over a wheel bearing....replaced ring & pinion bearings and only needed wheel bearings. BTW they had all been replaced in the last 6 months. The wheel bearings were defective.

 

My drive shaft does the same thing. Also, mine makes a whining sound in 5th above 65mph coasting and when you hit the gas it stops.

No thread jack intended.

 

Ok cool I will try this tomorrow.

 

drive shaft is too loose at the carrier. swap it. i just did mine 2 weeks ago. i was able to pull the carrier off my driveshaft without any tools, just by hand pulling it off. still needed an impact gun to remove the lock nut though. also pushed the carrier back onto my driveshaft by hand. had a toyota technician buddy helping me doing this, he said everything went on perfectly.

i had a bad whining noise just like you described. a little went away when I greased my u-joints. went fully away when I swapped the carrier. try doing this and greasing your u-joints before looking at your pinion.

especially since your pinion bearing should be bathing in gear oil. check your gear oil level in your rear diff. if it's at the fill hole, you shouldn't have to worry.

 

Im not an expert on differentials but that looks like excessive backlash?

 

Hanger (center support) bearing appears to be quite worn. That amount of backlash at the pinion is not normal in any way, shape or form. I suspect that's the source of the howl and whine.

Could be an excessively worn ring and pinion, improper backlash, or more likely the pinion bearing itself.

 

Why would my backlash have changed? Internal damage? I had my rear pinion seal change about a month ago would that stake pinion nut not being torqued properly cause it possibly?

 

Sounds good I will slap some grease up there for starters and do carrier bearing Sunday. Already have a new one so i might as well

 

In my experience a leaky pinion seal is usually a sign of a bad bearing. It's the excessive slop in the bearing itself that can wreck the seal.

Just so things don't get construed terminology wise, the carrier bearing is technically in the rear end. The center support or hanger bearing is that middle section in the driveshaft that you were pushing up on.

 

What exactly was the type of noise and did this ever get resolved? I’ve developed a higher pitched metal on metal noise but only at 45mph and 53mph. Replaced the center support bearing and checked every u-joint and there is nothing binding or slipping anywhere. Gonna take it into a differential shop this week and see what they say. (170k 2002 Tacoma PreRunner)