I Opened a Can of Worms Last Night in My Jeep

I have been having some grinding noises coming from the back axle of my Jeep over the past few months. So last night I decided it was time to start the process of changing out the gear oil, wheel bearings and pinon seal. Easy! I thought... Not so much. As soon as I took off the differential cover, I knew I was in for a long repair process. After the stank gear oil was drained, I took a peek at the spider gears only to see they are all but destroyed.

The closer inspection shows that 2 of the 4 gears have chipped away teeth...

That have traveled into the axle shaft...

Another surprise came my way when I went to go take the spider gears out of the carrier. It seems as if the previous owner did not put the cross pin bolt back in.

As of right now, this is how the Jeep sits... Crippled and missing a leg.

Thankfully I was able to find parts that are currently being overnight shipped to me. Now I have to find a shop press to install the new wheel bearings on to the axle shaft. It's fun to work on cars, but I really HATE dealing with anything that has to do with gear oil. I detest the smell of that nasty stuff so much! Happy wrenching!