Full send always... If one breaks you just switch to front-wheel drive

Yeah it doesn't look TOO bad. I say do your best to clean it all out and let it sit open so water can evaporate out.
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UPDATE: I got the rear installed and took it for a test drive, it definitely needs a wheel bearing, but it also has a slight howl/whine on light load acceleration at around 40 mph. I got some oil additive coming in the mail hopefully that will help. I don’t mind the noise at all as long as it doesn’t grenade on me going down the freeway

that’s how it always seems to go, wheel bearings love to go out after you were just inside a 8.25. How were your pinion bearings? I just had to change my own they started getting some play

How much back lash does it have.

If you watch some YouTube vids you can get a feel for about what .006 backlash sounds like and compare that to what yours feels sounds like.

A cheap harbor freight dial indicator is a good investment for peice of mind and the ability to adjust it.

Theres no telling if its actually set correctly until you check it..

I’ll check the pinion bearings and backlash again when I do the wheel bearings, there is .008 marked on the ring gear so I would assume that’s the lash when it was set up. I’m about to get the front installed, if that one is quiet at least Ill know they knew what they were doing

Yes the howl will come from improper backlash, or basically, how the ring and pinion mate together and where the surfaces touch. You can get some special stuff like this to put on the ring and then spin the axle with the wheels off the ground so the ring makes one full turn, then view the paint and see where the pinion is mating to the ring. The paint will be scuffed off where they meet. That shows you the current backlash, then use a dial indicator and shims to get it perfect...

8.24 had side adjusters, no shims.
first step is check it. Eliminate backlash and contact .

Also a good teml gun is a great tool. If a bear is bad you can find it. . Like say one wheel bearing is running at 90 and thr other side 150

If both wheel bearing are running similar temp i wouldn't suspect them.

That witness mark i circled id probably look there

Research absorb material and learn .

In the jeep world never assume the guy ahead if you did it correctly. Wether thats gears or simple service

I definitely know a wheel bearing is bad. I’ll check the wear pattern again when I open it back up. Is there any truth behind the 8.25 being noisy Or certain aftermarket gears being noisy? Or the one poster above said the pitting could make some noise. I’ve had diffs with gears set up incorrectly before and they were much louder than this one, same type of noise just much louder.

"Is there any truth behind the 8.25 being noisy"
The 27 spline one in my '96 has been whining to me ever since I bought the vehicle ~11 yrs ago.

I see know reason why an 8.25 would be any noiser than any othere axle on the market that has a ring and pinion gear in it.
I'd say that is more a jeep he said she said that my brother's x girlfriend dad cousins brother's said his 8.25 buddies said. And none own a jeep but that guys rear end was noisey, but may have actually been a Mazda pickup.


How are you checking the wear pattern.

Kinda pointless to check without gear marking paint or possibly a torch and smoke it.
id also want to have a dial indicator.
To me it seems pointless without tools on hand otherwise your just guessing like 99.9% of jeep jibber jabber thats posted all over the internet.

That witness mark is driving me crazy by the way. Wtf would there be a magnet there. Is it actually from a magnet. By that witness mark it plainly could make the same or similar sound to gears incorrectly set up. Is it possibly due to incorrect set up. Pinion to deep?
im most likely over thinking it because you aren't thinking and like every one knows diagnosing **** is nearly impossible without getting hands on it.

Im not thinking? Im checking the wear pattern with gear marking compound, I’ve done this before The mark is indeed from a magnet, the PO riveted a round trans magnet to the inside of the cover. The mark is not polished like you stated above, it’s actually black, i would assume it got Black from the gunk stuck to the magnet. I’m about to head back to college and I’ll get my teacher to check the gears out with me, he’s an ASE master tech

Many reputable techs and the best gear installer in my town have told me there is no way to find out if they are set of correctly until you tear them apart and the best thing you can do is look at the teeth and check the bearings