I have replaced the front passengers side half-axle with a rebuilt unit. And now if I turn the wheels full look to the right while moving I here a horrible popping metal grinding noise. The half-axle on the drivers side has not been replaced. When the wheels are turned full lock to the left while moving there is no noise of doom.

Also when I replaced the passenger sied half-axle I replaced the wheel bearings and the ball joint.

Is it possible that I was given a ea81 type axle? I hear that they are identical in almost every way with the only difference being that they don't have as much reach.

My first though has to do with how the axle was installed and tightened. Lots of graunching/grinding noises are caused by the axle being loose in the hub.

 

There is a dished washer under the axle nut, and it needs to be installed so the convex side is against the nut. Also, some books misstate the tightening torque for the axle nut as around 100ft-lbs, whereas IIRC it should be 140ft-lbs.

Hmm. I don't recall a dished washer. IIRC there was a tapered washer and a split washer and I did tighten down to 140foot pounds. Ill have to take a look at how its put together today.

The tapered washer is split and it does look as though the washer as its concave side against the nut! So, according to your post this is the wrong way to assemble the unit? Correct?

You should have a split cone which goes on first into the conical recess of the hub, and then a solid "flat" washer that really has a dish to it goes over that, and then the axle nut. This flat/dished washer should go on so that the "rim" of the dish will contact the split cone's outer edge, and the inner hole's "bottom" contacts the axle-nut. (Or, think of it as placeing your cupped hand over the axle stub.)

I pulled the hub cap off the other wheel and they are not installed the same. I messed up on the passenger side, its pretty obvious which way that washer is installed. Whoops!. I wonder how much more that will pull the axle into the hub. Guess I 'll find out later tonight, I'll let ya know what the results are. Thanks for your help.!

Depending on what you did defferently, not so much a case of pulling axle throught, but rather keeping splines from sliding in hub splines.