Please help ASAP. Front diffy question.

[01EB5.0]

Hello,
Well, i took my truck to my local mechanic for the humming sound up front and a leaky pinion seal.
Here is what he said: Front pinion seal leaking. Replace pinion seal. Pinion shaft loose, possable internal damage. Metal shavings found in oil. Left wheel bearing humming/grinding, and right CV shaft binding up.

I disassembled the truck myself yesterday and found both CV shafts to move freely and feel tight, found the left wheel bearing was in fact bad, and found no problem with the front differential. I have already purchased a new front differential. I did not find any metal shavings in my diffy and the ring and pinion look good as new. The other smaller gears inside look ok that I can tell. Is there anything i can look for to see if the gears are in fact good? i need to drive to chicago Tuesday so I really need a solution by tomorrow evening, hopefully. if i return the new diffy i think i get hit with a 20% restocking fee. I paid $550 for the axle, so someone please help me decide if the old one might be ok or if i should just drop in the new one...thanks!

 

[410Fortune]

I suspect your wheel bearing was an issue, the CV joints you said are fine and I am not sure how he found metal shavings in the front diff without removing it?

Could he be talking about your rear 8.8 pinion seal and shaft? This would be a much more common problem, but then I am quite new to the IFS AWD (not for long, I now own one)
If you replaced the wheel bearing assembly and the problems seem resolved then I would in no way be afraid to drive it and ignore what your "mechanic" said.

 

[01EB5.0]

I suspect your wheel bearing was an issue, the CV joints you said are fine and I am not sure how he found metal shavings in the front diff without removing it?

Could he be talking about your rear 8.8 pinion seal and shaft? This would be a much more common problem, but then I am quite new to the IFS AWD (not for long, I now own one)
If you replaced the wheel bearing assembly and the problems seem resolved then I would in no way be afraid to drive it and ignore what your "mechanic" said.

My dilemma now is the fact that i have $600 into the replacement diffy and the whole truck taken apart. if i reassemble the thing and the front diffy is going out then i will be doing it all over again, yet i hate to throw up a new diffy if the current one is fine. I think in the morning a will take it to an axle shop and get their opinion, for now i need a drink...

ALso no he was not referring to my rear end at all, my front was leaking slightly from the pinion seal, and he claimed the pinion shaft was loose but i did not feel any play at all now that it is out of the truck.