12 Bolt Question

[nc69rs]

I have a eaton and 3.73 gear in my camaro 12 bolt. Recently I noticed a large amount or gear whine on both accel and decel. On decel it would vibrate like going over the rumble strips on the side of the highway. I found that I had lost the pinion preload, the pinion nut was very loose. I tightened it to 150 ftlbs and the decel vibration and whine is gone.
The problem I have is the accel gear whine is still there and unbearable.

The gear looks fine with no noticable wear marks beside that the pinion had ran in fairly deep. The oil is very dirty and looks shiney due to some fine metal.

Now for the question, Since the gear had developed an irregular wear pattern, due to the pinion being loose, will I have to replace the gear to eliminate the whine?

[minendrews68]

Just thinking out loud, but I would say that since the gear has a irregular pattern now, it will have to be replaced.
You were lucky, with the pinion loose like it was you could've scattered that rear end.

[big gear head]

If the gear has a bad pattern then you will probably have to replace it. Is this the original gear or is it after market? You could try replacing the pinion bearings and see if that takes care of the problem, but it probably won't.

[nc69rs]

It is a Richmond Gear, but I'm thinking of going with a Motive Gear this time. Since the pinion bearing got some amount of beating on decel, I wonder if it could be damaged causing the whine? Personally the ring gear looks pretty good to me.

[big gear head]

Could be the bearings. It might be worth while to change them and see if it gets better. I can send you a pinion kit that has the pinion bearings, pinion seal and nut and crush spacer.