Very long story short, my pinion nut walked loose and messed up my rear end pretty badly. I have a kia sportage 4.77 carrier and diff coming in the mail. I’m not super experienced with drivetrain stuff, so I’m looking for some second opinions here:

Do yall think I’m good to stick this diff into the kia carrier?

I think what I’m seeing here is witness marks where the pinion was rubbing on the diff. These marks are pretty deep, but they don’t seem to be affecting anything that moves or acts as a wear surface.

my pinion gear is shot, a couple teeth broke off. My ring gear actually looks unharmed, but I’m considering it junk just based on how messed up the pinion was. That said, the actual diff unit seems relatively unaffected, besides the above witness marks. I think it should be okay to put into a new carrier, but I’d like some other thoughts.

 

Oh and just so nobody freaks out and goes out to check their own pinion nut, the TL;DR of my “long story” is that I’m an idiot. Now I’m doing damage control lol

 

That must have made some absolutely delightful noises!

Based on the picture I would likely re-use it, assuming the ring gear mounting surface is okay and I didn't have a replacement sitting on the shelf. That said, I'm generally quite a bit more risk tolerant than some on the forum.

 

Honestly i was surprised how much damage there was. Maybe I’m losing my touch, but the noise was right between, “Is the car just being old” and “yeah we’re taking that apart.”

The ring gear mounting surface looks to be unharmed. I’m tempted to think that because this “cage” (is that what we’re calling it?) is a cast part, and very thick, the damage is likely superficial.

 

if thats the only damage i think it'll be ok. there is a good thread on here about the rebuild. mine is apart now...the gears are shot/rzor sharp. did not set it up properly. need to use tension this time and use less marking compound when setting it up. wish you luck.