RING AND PINION ADJUSTMENT

After wheeling hard at TruckHaven, I noticed a howling noise coming from the rear axle(d44) in my TJ.So I removed the diff cover and found the oil to be silverish, and the wear pattern to have shifted to the heel of the ring gear and exesive wear on the coast side of the ring. There is no visible broken teeth, or bearing damage, so I'm wondering if it was never set up right the first time, and the extra load on it adjusted it with out my permission. Please advise.  

Need more info. Did you just have the gears set up and this is the first trip? Rearends can typically make three different noises. Each one means something different has gone wrong. A high-pitched whirr at speed is usually the pinion bearings failing, a deep groan is usually the axle or carrier bearings. Clunking and banging is usually missing teeth on the ring or pinion.

Once a ring and pinion is set up it should be good for the life of the vehicle (unless of course you break something, contaminate the oil, or let it run dry). There really should be no adjustment needed. It's more likely that something is worn or broken in your axle. Sounds to me like you're losing a pinion bearing, however TJ Dana 44s subjected to big tires and lots of off-road use or airtime have a tendency to eat carrier bearings due to a bent housing or flex.

Some metal in the oil is normal. But grab the pinion and check for slop in the bearings. If there is a lot and the gears are worn badly you'll need a new gearset and bearings. But check the housing for straightness before you plunk the new stuff in there.  

The only time there is any noise is deceleration like when down shifting. No noise at steady speed or acceleration. As soon as I let off the gas, there is a lower pitch howl. Now the other thing is the housing is bent,but not to a point that the seals leak.Both axles are slightly bent at the flanges as well.We have seen a little air time. The axle was set up upon arb install about 3000 miles ago.  

BEARING NOISE
The axle shaft, differential and pinion bearings can
all produce noise when worn or damaged. Bearing
noise can be either a whining, or a growling sound.
Pinion bearings have a constant-pitch noise. This
noise changes only with vehicle speed. Pinion bearing
noise will be higher pitched because it rotates at a
faster rate. Drive the vehicle and load the differential.
If bearing noise occurs, the rear pinion bearing
is the source of the noise. If the bearing noise is
heard during a coast, the front pinion bearing is the
source.
Worn or damaged differential bearings usually produce
a low pitch noise. Differential bearing noise is
similar to pinion bearing noise. The pitch of differential
bearing noise is also constant and varies only
with vehicle speed.
Axle shaft bearings produce noise and vibration
when worn or damaged. The noise generally changes
when the bearings are loaded. Road test the vehicle.
Turn the vehicle sharply to the left and to the right.
This will load the bearings and change the noise
level. Where axle bearing damage is slight, the noise
is usually not noticeable at speeds above 30 mph.