Can’t catch a break cuz it may not be the brakes
sorry, I had to...
Anyways, if you’re sticking with stock height tires, and do mostly highway driving, you can get away with 3.42 gears; however, 3.73s are a good middle ground. You may not know your rear diff is gone. Sometimes they don’t throw you a sign. I was driving home to WA state from Utah in my 1999 Cummins with 648HP. Had two people pull up alongside me to say something was wrong. Pulled over, and sure enough, I shot a gear bolt out the pan and fluid leaked everywhere. Still was running smooth! Took it apart, and literally only 2 bolts were holding the gear together, and I took them out with my fingers. All the others had exploded and gone everywhere inside the pan.
So, do the dry spline test like the other guy said. Then, drain your diff fluid (save it if it’s new), then inspect the spider gear and ring bolts. You can use brake cleaners to clean the inside so you can see everything better. Make sure you give it ample time to dry before you put it back together. Oh, and don’t use RVT sealant, only use the paper gasket.