I believe my pinion bearing is bad as I have a loud hum under load. Similar sound to my mud tires just 5x louder.
I lifted the vehicle/tires off the ground and accelerated up to 20mph (don't do this) and the noise is still present which is why I believe it's the pinion bearing.
As someone who has never rebuilt a differential, should I pick up the proper tools and learn to rebuild it or just pick up an entire axle assembly from one of the yards listed on car-part.com? Last time I checked they had an assembly with 95k miles grade A for $200-300. I have hand tools, air tools, and a press.
If I pick up a used axle what should I look for? Is it possible to tell if there is a bad pinion bearing from inspecting it? Can I use any 02 to 07 year axle in my 03 with discs/no abs?
I lifted the vehicle/tires off the ground and accelerated up to 20mph (don't do this) and the noise is still present which is why I believe it's the pinion bearing.
As someone who has never rebuilt a differential, should I pick up the proper tools and learn to rebuild it or just pick up an entire axle assembly from one of the yards listed on car-part.com? Last time I checked they had an assembly with 95k miles grade A for $200-300. I have hand tools, air tools, and a press.
If I pick up a used axle what should I look for? Is it possible to tell if there is a bad pinion bearing from inspecting it? Can I use any 02 to 07 year axle in my 03 with discs/no abs?