How long can I drive with noisy pinion bearing?

My mechanic diagnosed my humming noise at certain throttle positions as a wearing pinion bearing. He says he has seen them go well over a 100k miles while still noisey. He also says that it wont cause any damage to anything other then the pinion bearing if i keep driving it. He says if he was me he would just keep driving it till it gets worse. I am fine with doing that, i just want to hear everyone opinion on that though. Its not too bad and i just dont have the money to spend on it right now. Should i be fine to drive it for a while longer? EDIT:will i be potentially causing more damage to the rest of the diff if i leave it alone? Thanks.

 

It's 100% ok until it's not.

Unfortunately there is no telling how long it will last. Could be ten days or ten years.

 

If the bearing is going out, I would think the ring and pinion would be the next to suffer damage.

 

I went over 100k after mine was detected, and I finally had it fixed a few years ago.
Mine was a bomb with a really long, slow burning fuse.

 

Not sure how the two translate, but I had a bad wheel bearing for 6 years. Drove fine. Made some wha wha noise until it went next level unbearably loud this summer. That was my clue to get it replaced.

 

Nothing to worry about until the noise gets unbearable. The next stage is grinding. I've dealt with this in my Datsun for 10 years, still the same.

 

Thank you for all the reassuring replies guys. They all basically sound the same as my mechanic said. As i was saying before as long as it doesnt mess with my other major gears I'm fine with it till it gets unbearable. I dont really think this bearing will have that many shavings in it anyways to damage the other gears until it just completely breaks then obviously ill know to stop driving. Thanks again for the reassurance.

 

"How far will one engine take us...?"
"All the way to the scene of the crash."

 

Everyone saying "until it doesnt work anymore" my other question is will it damage other stuff in the process before it fails?

 

We don’t have Crystal Balls that look into the future. Anything is possible.

You either fix it now OR take a chance. Pick one. That decision is up you.

 

Even if it seized would probably rip the u-joint apart and that's far fetched. A whine is nothing. If there is no play at the pinion flange, try a fluid change.

 

Mine was "whining" between 40-50 mpg. That's my usual around town driving speed so I replaced the whole assembly around 170k. I kept my old assembly, thought I put it back in if I ever hit this one wheeling. Mechanic said the same as yours, probably would of lasted another 170k.

 

"They call me....tater salad".

 

"Other states are trying to abolish the death penalty... mine's putting in an express lane."

 

Stop scaring the kid will ya, it's just a wine not a grind. I drove home once from the NH race way after blowing a pinion in my Datsun. It was still together, but probably about an inch of play. I'm talking real bad and I made it home. Now I trailer it to the track. You some time to fix it. Not sure we're you live but I have a nice rear end with no noise from a 2000. All new brakes as well with new drums. I still have to remove it, so in time. I go by junk yard prices from this yard, https://garysupullit.com/ Now I just gave you one of my big secrets. Located in Binghamton, NY.

 

I would bias my action(s) by first performing a fluid change and inspecting the fluid for signs of metal grit or abnormal metal content. If the fluid has never been changed since 2001, it might be difficult to tell. If that is the case, I would change and then repeat in a few months. If the second change is clean, I'd ignore. If there is abnormal metal content in the second change then parts are disintegrating.

 

That is exceptional fuel mileage!

 

Nice catch, I'm blaming spellcheck...

 

@zombie thanks. Yea they were scaring the kid. (I'm 19) lol. But yea its all good. Ill save up for a full rebuild in the future before i move out to colorado, but thats not for a while. Im located in chicago illinois, thanks for the offer and the piece of mind.

 

My 4runner developed a whine and it last several years before I decided to fix it. If the noise is actually a pinion bearing, it will be years before you even need to worry, more than likely. I have a contact in my area that actually rebuilds/regears/repairs rear end chunks and I took it to him. He used factory Toyota parts. The bearing was 240.00 and with labor, grease, etc, the total price to fix it was 450.00. If you can find someone who knows how to do this type of work, that would be your best bet. But its hard to find someone that knows how to set up the clearances correctly.

 

@RickC hey rick. Thanks you very much for the reply. Ive been stressing at work all day about it. I called a 4x4 diff repair shop and they said i might aswell rebuild the whole diff since they are already in there and they also said other stuff will be on their way out too. Which i highly doubt. And also i feel like it shouldnt be that labor intensive either. Anyways in less than a year I'm moving to colorado from illinois and i might just do a full rear diff rebuild. But everyone including my mechanic is basically saying I'm good to go for a long time as long as i can deal with the sound. Thanks again

 

@RickC And why did u end up repairing it? Did you have to or did u decide that it was just finally time? And did u have any other diff problems after only replacing the pinion bearing? Thanks again

 

I replaced mine because I was planning to give the 4runner to my daughter and son-in-law while they moved to Ohio so they would have the 4WD. Since they will be in Ohio for 3 years, I didn't want it to fail that far from where I knew I could get it fixed and fixed right. I did not have any issues or whine once it was replaced.

 

@RickC alright thanks. Yea I'm suprised u had a shop quote you that little for it. My mechanic quoted me a little over 1,000. 2 mechanics actually. Glad to know i can save up for a year or so and then do it. I can prob just put it off for the next 80,000 miles if i r3ally wanted too to

 

Yeah, that shouldn't be an issue. I didn't use a shop though, it's an individual who builds race cars and he does this type of work for people as a side gig. He's one of the few around that knows how to get the clearances right when swapping ring/pinion gears or changing to limited slip. He has done 4 different ones for me over the years.

 

For the price your getting quoted(over $1000)must be for the whole assembly, fluids etc?

 

Its all good! Your mechanics and plenty here say you’ll be fine with a bad bearing. No need to waste your time worrying about it.

(Unless the noise is driving you nuts.)

 

How long it will last isn't relevant. Where it will leave you when it craters and stops your truck in its tracks is what matters...as in 20 miles in the back country with no cell service. Feel the same way about 4WD...it will generally take you about a mile further than the spot/point where you would have turned back with 2WD. How much do you like walking, hitching, or begging someone (family/friend/stranger (axe murder?) for a ride?
Fix it as soon as you can afford it.

 

Axe murderers? Pucks won’t leave his house now that you’ve brought that subject up.

 

@tmac58star its just a whinning bearing bro, i will fix it once i can afford it though since it is slightly annoying.