Rear Pinion failure and no parts availability

[midcont]

This is a 21' Mojave. Stock except for 35's.
Started hearing a loud, speed dependent noise at what I thought was the front diff. Took for service (still under powertrain warranty) and they said it was a rear pinion failure (not a seal, the pinion gear itself). The tech guessed this was what it was from description and later confirmed it. I was surprised then that I didn't see a whole bunch of posts on it.
The issue is there is no part availability and no ETA on part availability. No loaner available from dealer either.
Have Jeep Cares involved and they couldn't really offer anything.
They did say that the whole rear axle is the replacement part.
Any thoughts on this? How long is reasonable to wait for something to develop and what are my options? Been at the dealer about 10 days so far.

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[rharr]

Ask if they can send the axle out to a drive line shop so they can replace the bearings and gears.

 

[Bbannongmu]

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[Hootbro]

You are going to be stuck in a process loop until something breaks out on their end of getting the parts. Reasonable time is really going to be yours to figure out. Could be days, weeks or months. No Magic 8 Ball on this one.

As mentioned, try to have it done by a third party using OEM parts, but that is going to be another process in and of itself to get Jeep to buy in and pay out on that if they do at all.

If the housing is not damaged, you may want to just use this opportunity to get a regear to something that better suits your 35's. Sure it will be out of pocket for you, but something to consider.

 

[Main Line Willys]

I don't know where you are in NJ, but you may want to reach out to Globex Performance in Toms River, NJ.
I have never used them personally due to location, but I have heard other Jeepers have been happy with their axle work.

 

[Vtur]

What noise did it made? High pitch or whine? I would rather wait for a whole axle replacement.

 

[midcont]

Here is a video. It sounds like it's driving on mud tires. It's on K02's.
Ignore the tire pressure....we had just had a TPMS sensor replaced and they overfilled.

 

[midcont]

I don't know where you are in NJ, but you may want to reach out to Globex Performance in Toms River, NJ.
I have never used them personally due to location, but I have heard other Jeepers have been happy with their axle work.

North Jersey. Tom's River a bit far.

 

[ross neill]

I would look for a used axle as a temporary fix

 

[darkhorse13]

Had the same thing happen to me. Pinion bearing failure, not the gear teeth for me. Drove from Kansas City to Denver and almost needed ear plugs. Sounded just like yours. Makes the same noise in drive with the wheels up in the air and rotating with no load on the tires. Out of warranty and good time for a re-gear.

 

[tysongladiator]

Here is a video. It sounds like it's driving on mud tires. It's on K02's.
Ignore the tire pressure....we had just had a TPMS sensor replaced and they overfilled.

Are they 100% positive that it's not the bearing? I'm no expert but that's what it sounds like. They have been having issues with the bearings because of the type of (Stock) pinion bearing used in the JTs. It's a double ball bearing type. Jeep will replace it with the same thing but most shops are replacing it with a tapered roller bearing from Timken.

 

[rharr]

Are they 100% positive that it's not the bearing? I'm no expert but that's what it sounds like. They have been having issues with the bearings because of the type of (Stock) pinion bearing used in the JTs. It's a double ball bearing type. Jeep will replace it with the same thing but most shops are replacing it with a tapered roller bearing from Timken.

Do you have a timken part number for the replacement taper bearing when swapping out the double ball bearing?

I was under the impression we were stuck with double ball bearings.

 

[tysongladiator]

Do you have a timken part number for the replacement taper bearing when swapping out the double ball bearing?

I was under the impression we were stuck with double ball bearings.

Here's a pic of the bearing with part# I have a spare.

Here's a video as well:

 

[tysongladiator]

Here's a pic of the bearing with part# I have a spare. You can order them from trail forged as well.

Let me say that I'm not saying that anybody is having the same issue, just something to think about.

Here's a video:

 

[professorkx]

I had something similar happen to my JK, but it was the locker that started to come apart. Dealer had it for just over 6 months, and the only repair solution was to wait for an entire rear axle assembly, as Jeep was not interested in any other solution. I kept getting promises on parts delivery…all of which were missed. When the first axle was delivered to the dealer, it was dropped and the housing cracked, so waited another 45 days for another axle assembly.

Looking back, since I can setup my own rear ends, I would have taken my jeep home and just fixed it myself and ate the costs.

Fortunately, I had my 47 CJ2a Truck conversion that I built several years ago, so the 47 went with us that year to Moab for our winter trip and turned out to be a blast having the old jeep in its natural habitat.

How long is too long? I think it depends upon how much money your are willing to spend to fix it yourself…

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