My 85 Dodge truck has plenty of rear axle noise. Even when it was new, I it took it back to the dealer due to excessive back lash. It really slammed the driveshaft when you put it in gear. Dealer said unless it was a full 1/4 turn of driveshaft it was OK. Well, now with 180,000 miles it still the same way. I have had it apart 2 -3 times, each time tighting and adjusting gear pattern and backlash. I found that the axle shaft splines are wore down about 1/3 of what they were to start with. It seems the spider gears were much harder than the axles.
I couldn't tell the difference in the gear noise. I guess once they are worn in, they are quiet or howl no matter what. From what I have found, gears to tight make more noise. I also found out that a tail shaft bearing in the transmission sound a lot like a pinion bearing. I put $150 worth of bearings in the axle and still had the noise. I only found it when I drove with out the carpet. I was cleaning it and had to go some where. I new as soon as I was up to speed where it was coming from! Joe
