2020 Overland Rear Diff Issues

[Jrath88]

Hey crew. Have a '20 Overland that is having rear end noises/issues at only 75k. Anyone had similar issues or thoughts on a resolution??

Started with a light hum and turned to more of a gear-to-gear sound last week. No clunks or clanks, is there whether in 2 or 4wd, in or out of gear, cornering makes no difference, and gets louder with vehicle speed. One local shop took a ride and then jacked it up to isolate it to the rear and suspected the pinion bearings were going. Not a major off-roader but has been up a hill or two, has never been molested for gearing, and stock everything. Manual 6 speed with 3:73s from factory.

Not real happy to hear with only 75k on it and on top of that I can't get a call back from my usual service writer or even the service department as a whole. I popped the diff cover yesterday to see for myself and all looks good, other than the few shards I found on the drain plug. No play in any of the gears/bearings that I could find without being jacked up.

From all I am seeing this isn't a typical issue for these so really curious what's going on and if Jeep will be of any assistance going forward.

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[DocMike]

Did you flush diff fluid at any time before this? If so, what did you use?

 

[Jrath88]

To be honest, I had not changed it out yet. Admittedly I know it should have been done if used for towing and such much earlier. This is just a daily play vehicle but will be adding this to the service rotation going forward. Still don't feel this is totally fluid caused personally though.

 

[Hootbro]

The rear pinion bearings on these Advantek axles are weak sauce. They use a plastic bearing cage holder that makes setting the turning toque a bit dicey if not done right.

 

[Jrath88]

The rear pinion bearings on these Advantek axles are weak sauce. They use a plastic bearing cage holder that makes setting the turning toque a bit dicey if not done right.

Good to know! If I need to have a local shop do the work, I will be using something with a longer lifespan and better materials. Thanks!

 

[Hootbro]

Good to know! If I need to have a local shop do the work, I will be using something with a longer lifespan and better materials. Thanks!

Good luck, I do not think the aftermarket has caught up to replace the OEM bearings that have the plastic cage.

 

[Hootbro]

This is the bearing setup on the nut side of the pinion shaft.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The rear pinion bearings on these Advantek axles are weak sauce. They use a plastic bearing cage holder that makes setting the turning toque a bit dicey if not done right.

I was just going to suggest that if it's the pinion bearings, he'd not be the first by any means......

There's also been a pro shop talk of certain lube causing issues with these and they strongly recommend staying with the mopar lube.
I did some digging on the side and found one lube that was tested for other properties and, well, it failed miserably.
So seeing a shop say that, and finding indications independently that they may be correct, I'll be sticking with mopar lube.

The reason for those bearings used by Dana is friction reduction and about .0004307 mpg increase. I'm kidding on the number, but when you save tiny fractions with each point of friction or resistance pretty soon you have a whopping whole 1 mpg gain.
Dana themselves say it's for reduction of friction and better economy.
If mine ever fails - I'll look for a way to use a Timken tapered roller bearing if at all possible.
Those double-ball bearings have to be killers to get the preload set correctly on.
It's a breeze on other differentials.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

To be honest, I had not changed it out yet. Admittedly I know it should have been done if used for towing and such much earlier. This is just a daily play vehicle but will be adding this to the service rotation going forward. Still don't feel this is totally fluid caused personally though.

It's not. Those bearings are problematic anyway. But if you do get into fluid changes, I do recommend staying with mopar fluid. Less trouble and hassle.

 

[DocMike]

I was told by my Off Road shop to only use the Mopar stuff and the appropriate additive if you have a LSD. Mine was eaten up in 5K due to the non Mopar lube eating up the plastic.

I was just going to suggest that if it's the pinion bearings, he'd not be the first by any means......

There's also been a pro shop talk of certain lube causing issues with these and they strongly recommend staying with the mopar lube.
I did some digging on the side and found one lube that was tested for other properties and, well, it failed miserably.
So seeing a shop say that, and finding indications independently that they may be correct, I'll be sticking with mopar lube.

The reason for those bearings used by Dana is friction reduction and about .0004307 mpg increase. I'm kidding on the number, but when you save tiny fractions with each point of friction or resistance pretty soon you have a whopping whole 1 mpg gain.
Dana themselves say it's for reduction of friction and better economy.
If mine ever fails - I'll look for a way to use a Timken tapered roller bearing if at all possible.
Those double-ball bearings have to be killers to get the preload set correctly on.
It's a breeze on other differentials.

 

[DocMike]

Anyone use these?

https://www.quadratec.com/p/crown-a...m8m6k-pQDo_xunkcjpQhm0xLUt9zQcAYaAgnvEALw_wcB

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Anyone use these?

https://www.quadratec.com/p/crown-a...m8m6k-pQDo_xunkcjpQhm0xLUt9zQcAYaAgnvEALw_wcB

That's the inner, but the outer is still double-row ball bearings according to this -

 

[jmdwifi]

Mine didn't make noise until I changed to 4.56. Yukon sent replacement gears and same noise. We were told by Yukon that some of these housing have a manufacture defect that sometimes shows up when you change gears. It's a slight harmonic hum at 40 to 50 miles per hour. I don't know if this has anything to do with this but just what I was told. I know I wish I didn't change gears. If I had it to do over, I would sell this and get a Rubicon and live with 4.10s.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Mine didn't make noise until I changed to 4.56. Yukon sent replacement gears and same noise. We were told by Yukon that some of these housing have a manufacture defect that sometimes shows up when you change gears. It's a slight harmonic hum at 40 to 50 miles per hour. I don't know if this has anything to do with this but just what I was told. I know I wish I didn't change gears. If I had it to do over, I would sell this and get a Rubicon and live with 4.10s.

What "defect" would do that? It's either correctly machined so the specs can be held as far as pinion depth, pinion preload, lash and carrier preload. Things either line up or they don't and if they don't, the issues would show up with other gear sets.
Could it be their own design or machining processes?

I'd be very interested in knowing how a defect in the housing would cause gear noise but only with certain gears.

 

[jmdwifi]

What "defect" would do that? It's either correctly machined so the specs can be held as far as pinion depth, pinion preload, lash and carrier preload. Things either line up or they don't and if they don't, the issues would show up with other gear sets.
Could it be their own design or machining processes?

I'd be very interested in knowing how a defect in the housing would cause gear noise but only with certain gears.

I don't know. I'm still in this hell. They replaced gears again and same noise. The old bearing had funny wear on it. I will get more details when I go back to the shop. Very frustrating. I need my truck to take a trip and I can't use it. 3.73 were not bad enough with 35s to put up with this shit.

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