04 Rubicon trashed rear end

Robw411

Robw411

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Joined
May 17, 2017
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11
Location
Illinois, United States
Lost the pinion bearing in my rear end tonight, then drove it the hour home in 4wheel anyway, I'm sure the pinion and ring gear is shot now too. How hard is rebuilding the 44? Can anyone suggest any good kits? Locker ruined? I'm afraid to open it tommorow..
 
Hard to say if the locker is ruined, but I would take it apart and inspect everything before jumping to conclusions. If it is indeed damaged, you'll instantly be able to tell upon removing the differential cover.

If I were to rebuild it, I would go with Revolution gears (they are arguably the best gears out there for our TJs). If you buy their kit, it comes with all the bearings and seals as well.

But again, don't jump to conclusions just yet. Take the diff cover off and let's see what you've got going on visually.
 
Pop the cover, pull the axles, pull the carrier, and post up pics of everything. You won't know until you dig into it.
 
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You can count on bearings for sure. The big issue with the pinion bearings going bad like that is the pinion backing off and contacting the carrier. The R&P may still be fine, post up some pics so we can see what it looks like.
 
Yep, sounds like your pinion bearing is done for sure. Still, take the cover off and see what you find. Your ring and pinion may or may not be fine.
 
Ya definitely, my buddy broke the front drive shaft, the rear yolk, and the rear driveshaft, on his Chevy 1500 and had to be dragged out then taken home on a flatbed so I was at least happy to be able to limp mine home in 4wheel
 
He just had to much tire for all the shitty aluminum parts Chevy uses he got on a steep hill with a little mud and as soon as it started to slip it broke everything. I'm not sure what happened with mine my best guess is that the pinion seal went bad then the fluid got washed out because the trails were so swamped.
 
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Robw411 said:
Ya definitely, my buddy broke the front drive shaft, the rear yolk, and the rear driveshaft, on his Chevy 1500 and had to be dragged out then taken home on a flatbed so I was at least happy to be able to limp mine home in 4wheel
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Damn:eeeeek:
 
Yep, sounds like wheels were spinning quite a bit, then as soon as you got some traction and hooked up... BOOM!

That's a common thing to have happen. Time for some Revolution alloy shafts. Only axle shafts still made in the USA (formerly Superior). Those will hold up to the abuse.
 
Chris said:
Yep, sounds like wheels were spinning quite a bit, then as soon as you got some traction and hooked up... BOOM!

That's a common thing to have happen. Time for some Revolution alloy shafts. Only axle shafts still made in the USA (formerly Superior). Those will hold up to the abuse.
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Ya luckily that was my buddies Chevy he's got money he'll have it at a shop and fixed by next week.. all my toys get fixed in my brothers garage by us..thats why I'm kinda skeptical about a rear end rebuild for my jeep I've never done one.
 
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Not hard to rebuild the rear end really. Though I never attempt gears myself just because I want a professional to get the gear lash correct.

However, installing axle shafts and all that, it's a walk in the park. Even gears are easy if you have experience with them.
 
@Robw411
I can hook you up with a set of Revolution gears, install kit, and/or anything else you want from them. Are you running the 4.10 ratio and factory locker?
 
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