Just to change the gearing is pretty straight forword. This would not be considered a complete overhaul...far from it. I'm very comfortable with tools in my hands but here are four reasons I won't and never have messed with Ring and Pinion:
1. Tools. There are a number of specialized tools required to do the job, most of which are not commonly found in the home shop. Though I must say having to go buy a new tool was never a real deterent!
2. Time. There are several inter-related adjustments that must be made, each affecting the other, so that time and patience are required as one “juggles†the adjustments to arrive at the best solution. You can’t just set one thing in isolation and move on to the next – as you change backlash, so you change pinion depth; adjust pinion depth and you will alter bearing preload and so on.
3. Precision. “Close†is definitely not good enough in gear set-up. There are exact specifications and minute tolerances that must be met – and with very good reason. The ring and pinion-gears are the place where all your engine’s power gets turned 90° - from the longitudinal axis of the crankshaft-driveshaft to the lateral axis of the axle shafts. Doing so places enormous stress on the differential carrier and gear teeth. In order to withstand these stresses without failure, the teeth on the ring and pinion must fit together, or mesh, precisely.
4. Consequence of failure. Fail to set up the gears properly - and deflection under load could cause a spike in localized tooth pressure, chipping or fragmenting the gears. Also, bearings that are improperly set up can overheat and seize. The damage caused by poor set-up can be quite severe - often destroying other nearby parts.
Until the axle is stripped down we won't know for sure the cause. As previously suggested, I'll put money on one of the wheel bearings. There was no noise leading up to this. Again another reason I believe it is a wheel or possible axle bearing. A ring and pinion problem will sing to the high heavens.
The Tech and I were on the same page in terms of what a complete overhaul included...everything out until you have two empty axle tubes and an empty pumpkin. As Silverback correctly pointed out the oil is shared throughout the axle. Once its contaminated the whole axle should be stripped, cleaned and replaced with new parts.
I'll be dropping it off on Monday. Expected to have it completed by Thursday. Then rims get dropped off at the polisher on Friday and then Saturday I jump on the FJR1300 and head for Monterey Ca for MotoGP. After the races (19-20th) I'll be spending 3wks taking the long way back to Phx. Thinking Oregon, Washington, ID, WY, CO and Utah....whoohoo!
As for changing the fluid....Service Manual states every 15K miles for our 248RBI Axle. Also, should note that Dodge wants Synthetic lube only with 4oz of anti slip lube added. Many folks, including parts counter persons, go with standard mopar GL5 with anti slip additive already included. Cheaper and more readily available but there's a reason Dodge spec'd this and I'll put more faith in their engineers than a parts counter person.
