99 Suburban IFS Front Differential question?

Sounds like a carrier bearing, you have to pull the ring gear to get to it properly if I am hearing you correctly.

I have rebuilt tons of these. Usually the noise is not the bearing you are looking at, even when they are run low on fluid that is the last bearing to go bad. The noise is usually the side carrier bearings or/and pinion bearing. Any way you have to remove the differential and split it apart to change the axel bearing you are refering to. The threaded collar you are refering to sets the ring/pinion depth and only threads out form the inside. Don't forget the hub bearing. That is the most comon noise in the front of these trucks.

Cartman,

Thanks for the input. I thought it would be the hub bearing, but when I took it apart it feels fine. It is smooth and tight through the whole rotation. So I started wiggling things around and checked the half shaft. In the process I could see the axle flange that goes into the Diff moving around. I removed the half shaft and this axle flange was really loose and not just in and out, but side to side as well. Since I will have to pull the diff I will check the other bearings. Thanks again.

chevy57

Cartman,

Great call on this. I started removing the passenger side hub and wheel bearing and when I got it out I gave it a couple of turns and noticed that it did not take as much force to turn the passenger side as it did to do the driver's side. I decided to replace the bearing / hub assembly first. This solved my problem. It is a little hard to believe that this was the problem as the bad bearing was not lumpy at all just a little tighter than the good one. Anyway thanks for your advice it saved my a boat load of time.

chevy57

I figured it would be a bearing but based on your post the next logical place was the halfshaft, glad you figured it out. Unit bearings are a weird deal.

Yes, the hub bearings usually feel fine at first by hand ( even when noisey on the road), you can only feel them by hand when they are really blown out. The weight and load of the truck is what agravates them. They radiate through the front end and can sound like other things. The axel movement you were refering to is pretty normal on a truck with a few miles. They are sloppy to begin with, don't worry about it. Glad to help.