Not a Buick, but a buddies 02 GMC Sierra 1500. He said on deceleration/coasting it's roaring like he has super swamper mud tires. No sound under load (acceleration or cruising part throttle). He's owned the truck since new and it now has 300k on it. Are we looking at a new ring and pinion? I ASSUME these rears have crush sleeves, could the preload be off due to that? I'm a bit of a rear end novice, what says the rear end experts?
First thing to do is check the pinion to see if it is loose. Possibly a bad bearing or loose pinion nut. A few years back,I replaced gears in the identical truck with the same rearend. It was so loud,it hurt your teeth. Everything looked good. The gears looked perfect. I simply installed new gears and bearings,and it was fine ever since.
The Gov lock if equipped probably stopped working 295k ago. It's unlikely to cause that kind of issue anyway. I'd check what Brian has said but I'd also look at the rest of the drivetrain if there is nothing obvious with the rear. The driveshaft will have a carrier bearing depending on the wheelbase that might be suspect
Thanks for the replies gents! I haven't got to put eyes on it yet, but said buddy is pretty mechanically inclined/general mechanics knowledgeable and is adamant it's coming from the rear end. It's a regular cab short bed, not sure those have carrier bearings due to the short wheel base. I'll try to get over and look at it this weekend. Any further input welcomed as well!
