rear end issues

[TJ-2thousand]

so i was trying to find a "buzzz" i was gettin from the rear end. i started at the pinion, and found it to be really loose. so i took the u-joint straps off and noticed that one of the caps was empty, all the needle bearings were gone! and the pinion nut was loose.

i tightend the nut back as tight as i could get it (i know it is supossed to be tourqued to ft/lbs but dont have a wrench, and needed it to be drivable). but there is still alot of play in the yoke itself.

i didnt have a new gasket, or and rtv. so i couldnt take the cover off.

so my question is. after i get a new u-joint. what damage can i expect inside the housing? seems to me that i would maybe need a new pinion.

thanks in advance.

[LoneWolf]

Brian, it depends on how much you drove it.  Apply red locktite and re-tighten that pinion nut with a big breaker bar as tight as you can get it.; if you still don't have a torque wrench. Then put in your new joint and drive it. It might be a little noisy for awhile, but eventually it should quiet down some. You'll also want to check to see if your rear end is getting hot after driving it for several miles. If it's too hot to keep your hand on it; then you'll probably wanna redo the whole setup. Otherwise keep on keepin on. 

[YJ_Aaron]

It's really not that simple.  The preload on your pinion bearings is now going to be wrong as it is a crush sleeve design. 

Which can really only be fixed by replacing with a new crush sleeve and re doing to spec.  You can run it how it is, but bearing life expectancy will be greatly reduced, and with running it loose the pinion can drop into the gear set causing more damage.