Done. Surprisingly, I didn't really hear anything from the pinion at all. I did hear some noise coming from the PS wheel. It feels rock solid when I push and pull on it but it does make some noise when I spin it. It is not constant but it almost sounds like there's one or two metal shavings that are grinding in a rotating assembly.

Could this be caused by my brakes? Or is the wheel bearing likely the cause of this and the vibration/growling I'm getting on the road? Or are these two separate issues? How do you tell if you have ring and pinion issues?

This is the first driveline problem I've ever had except for a Jeep I used to own that popped its diff two or three times. It was under warranty so I just took it to the dealer every time.

I drained the fluid to see if chunks of metal would come out but it looked pretty good. There was a coating of gray slime on the drain plug but no discernible metal shavings anywhere. It seems as though there is a good bit of play in the diff but I really don't know how much is normal. I can turn the input flange 1/16 to 1/8 of a turn without engaging it and it spinning the wheels.