rear end whining

[ellik]

ok.... i had a whining noise that reminded me of a tractor reading down a hill where the momentum wanted to move it faster than what the gearing in the transmission would allow it. it only happened while i was putting power to the rear end.... when i let off the gas it would stop. my rear end fuid was good (checked that first cause it sounded like it was from the rear end), but i found that my rear seal in the tranny was leaking... where the driveshaft went in. i was down 2-3 quarts of tranny fluid, so i replaced the seal, the tranny filter, cleaned the pan out (no metal pieces) and replaced all the fluid. when i was under the car and spun the d/s, i thought i could hear a quieter version of this noise at the front of the d/s. well, with this done it is slightly quieter, and now ive got my ses light on. about a month ago, before the whining noise i got a code and reset the computer and it went away. what should my next plan of attack be and any thoughts on if these two things are related?

[Alexcab7]

Ok, I think I am having the same kind of problem, except I havent checked anything. My car sounds like a plane taking off when im driving it, im thinking it has to be coming from the differential, it is definitley coming from the back somewhere. It would probably be a good idea to check it I guess.

Alex

[ZAngel]

Since the noise changes with the amount of power you put down, that leads me to believe that it is the gears. The transmission will always make a slight noise as you are turning the driveshaft but this is hardly noticeable from the inside of the car. Do you have stock gears and the stock diff in the car? If not, the way the gears were shimmed could reflect the amount of whine. Is the whine more of a deep whistle, metal shreeking whine, or like fingernails on a chalkboard? Have you ever noticed any fluid leaking around the pumpkin area?

[ellik]

ok, i just got back from getting my car scenned and another stop at a tranny shop. the ses code is unrelated.... the inside of my cat is falling apart... time for a better high flow. anyway, i was told by a good mechanic (not the pep boy guys) that hes 90% sure its the bearings in my rear end. Now, since im a 97 w/ drums (theyre painted & look as good as drums get, but theyre still drums) and open differential, ive located and got a rear end out of a 96 T/A on the way.

my new question is this. it has 3.23 gears and im running an automatic. the guy at the shop wants 3 C-notes to change the gears for me, and i supply the gears and install kit. now, i wanted 3.42's and would swap my pcm for a y87 so shift points match up. for 300 i think i can learn to install the gears myself. any suggestions on the price or difficulty of the install. i know ive seen some instructions floating around online but i do want to make sure they are right. secondly.... as for the gearing, to spent 200 on gears + whatever i decide on the install, should i bother w/ 3.42's and a y-87 pcm or should i consider 3.73's and another route to make my computer work. whats the cheapest i can expect to get away with to correct my original pcm... who HAS actually done this with a 97/97 pcm and what results have you had.... most searches i pulled up regarding this are speculative.
any suggestions are appreciated.
thanks.