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  • Axxe55

    Retiretgtshit stirrer
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    Agree with that. I might take it to one of the independents in town for a second opinion. I'm probably still gonna end paying a couple hundred bucks for the tear down labor.

    Shouldn't even be a couple hundred. All they need to do is pop off the rear-end cover and drain the gear oil and inspect the damage and wear of the ring and pinion and the bearings. Replace the gear oil and reseal the rear-end cover. A good and competent mechanic should be able to do the entire job in about an hour.
    Lynx Defense
     

    cycleguy2300

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    Well, looks like I'll be selling the Sonoma. The guy says the rear diff had metal shavings in it. All the guts need replacing. Cost? Er, $3700. Perhaps I need a second opinion. I told him to fugetaboutit. No way I'm spending that kind of money on a $2k vehicle. I'm surprised they didn't see that when they replaced the drive axles in January. I've only put about 125 miles on it since then.

    Something stinks to high heaven. I can't help but feel they are being dishonest about something here. I'll be finding a new repair shop for sure.
    Again, source a RE from a junk yard. You have a brake line, some springs, shocks and a drive-shaft... it should be an easy swap innthe driveway and would let you sell for a lot more even if you don't want to keep it.

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    Axxe55

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    Find a pick and pull get a different complete axle

    That would be a hit or miss. It's a 1995 model truck. That's looking for a compatible rear-end that is going to be over 20 years old, and that possibly has as many or more miles, along with possibly as much or more wear than he already has.

    A rebuild, or a replacement with a new rear-end are the best options.
     

    popper

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    Look for axle/drive shaft rebuild shop. Unbolt, take to shop, reverse on install. I had Christian bros replace master cylinder on Hyundai, 1100$ and brakes went out next day, again.
     
    Last edited:

    cycleguy2300

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    Shouldn't even be a couple hundred. All they need to do is pop off the rear-end cover and drain the gear oil and inspect the damage and wear of the ring and pinion and the bearings. Replace the gear oil and reseal the rear-end cover. A good and competent mechanic should be able to do the entire job in about an hour.
    Diffs are fairly easy to work on and not too complicated.

    I'd still go for a RE swap

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    Axxe55

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    Diffs are fairly easy to work on and not too complicated.

    I'd still go for a RE swap

    Sent from your mom's house using Tapatalk

    Until you start messing with the bearing preload, or the pinion bearing preload, or setting the contact pattern. If a person doesn't have the special tools for those jobs, and the knowledge of how to do it, it's a very difficult job even for an experienced mechanic.

    See post #23.
     

    Bozz10mm

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    It cost me 65 bucks today for differential fluid change. :) He said the gears are badly worn and pitted. If I still wanted to repair it, cost would be $3045. I'm just gonna drive it 'til it won't go any more. Keep it in town, no highway driving.

    Thanks for all the suggestions, but no way I'm capable of swapping out the whole rear end myself. Don't have the tools or knowledge or the youth.

    I should have paid more attention to maintenance. I took great care of the rest of the vehicle, but completely ignored changing the diff lube. I guess it was inevitable after 26 years and 175k miles.
     

    Axxe55

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    It cost me 65 bucks today for differential fluid change. :) He said the gears are badly worn and pitted. If I still wanted to repair it, cost would be $3045. I'm just gonna drive it 'til it won't go any more. Keep it in town, no highway driving.

    Thanks for all the suggestions, but no way I'm capable of swapping out the whole rear end myself. Don't have the tools or knowledge or the youth.

    I should have paid more attention to maintenance. I took great care of the rest of the vehicle, but completely ignored changing the diff lube. I guess it was inevitable after 26 years and 175k miles.

    Bozz, I am fairly certain a competent repair shop could replace the rearend way cheaper than that, even using a complete reman rearend.


    We have used this supplier in the past, and they are highly recommended. Their work is top notch.

    But, you would have to decide if the cost of a reman rearend is worth the cost in regards to what the vehicle is worth.

    Also, if you can find a good used one, and I looked around online, and for your truck, they ranged from about $250 to $450 for a used one. A competent shop should be able to replace the rearend in a few hours. There was salvage yard we used out of Lufkin that gave a 90 day warranty on their used parts. If it was crap, it's going to fail within 90 days. Only twice did we have to make use of the 90 day warranty, and they didn't give us any problem about it. I'll see if I can find out the name of the salvage yard.

    Just a suggestion.
     

    Grumps21

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    Apr 28, 2021
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    That one won't work on my 2WD. The thought to replace the entire drive shaft had crossed my mind. I was looking at this one


    But not even sure that would fit. On the way to the shop this morning, it started making a loud growling noise around 55 mph. The longer I drove the worse it got. It may not even be u joints. Had the technician take a ride with me so he could hear what's going on. It's on the rack now. He suggested it might be the propeller shaft. The noise is definitely coming from the back end. What are the possibilities? Rear wheel bearings, differential, axle shafts, drive shaft, or U joints. I can't think of anything else back there.

    The noise starts after 2 or 3 miles of driving and continues to grow in intensity. I don't know. Seems to get louder when I let off the gas and then dimishes as I slow.
    That growling could be the center bearing going out. Happened to me on an old Isuzu I once had.
     

    Sasquatch

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    Its a crummy time to be looking for a car. Just like houses - cars are going for stupid prices. Many dealers cannot get new inventory, or what inventory they have is sparse, and they're not prone to dickering much on price. Dealers are buying used inventory for stupidly high prices, just to have something to sell, which means the retail or private sale price on used vehicles has shot up.

    My dad has been in the market for another vehicle for some time, and prices are just stupid. 20 year old trucks still going for $7-8k, even with 200+K on the odom. His neighbor got a call from the dealer that sold his truck to him last year, offering to buy it for more than he paid for it (he said no, as he needs his truck for his business)

    Its a sellers market in a lot of industries right now. Hopefully you can limp that Sonoma along until things become more reasonable again!
     

    popper

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    Just install some grease fittings and grease them!
    Ya, wish I could fix my body that way.
    That 20% inflation we got last year makes everything more expensive. Plus the built in obsolescence. U joints aren't hard to replace, buy the spider & cups, press out old and in with new. Big C clamp. GM sis have a rear end hard to fix axle bearings as they put a C snap ring inside the housing. Otherwise it's yank the axle, cut off old and press on new. Diffs usually just whine when bad. Then there is the saw dust in the diff trick.
    The noise starts after 2 or 3 miles of driving and continues to grow in intensity. Wheel bearing.
     

    TexMex247

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    Well don't want to pour any gas on the fire but I'd agree that they missed this at your last repair. It true that bearing noise can be hard to determine while driving but an experienced tech can differentiate the various noises well. I confirm my suspicions with a mechanics stethoscope.

    A diff will change pitch from accelerating under a load, coasting and deceleration. The fluid condition would be an obvious indicator as well as a fuzzy magnet when they took off your differential cover. You couldn't replace the rear bearings without having the cover off and fluid/magnet condition literally right in their face.

    At this point you might as well drive it til it has obvious drag or severe noise. Building a differential is a specialized skill and most shops would replace rather than rebuild.

    As far as u joints, diy and melt the epoxy with a propane or oxy torch, it will flow out like the old school "snakes" fireworks. If you pay a shop to rebuild a multi piece shaft it will cost more than an aftermarket replacement.
     

    Bozz10mm

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    Well don't want to pour any gas on the fire but I'd agree that they missed this at your last repair.

    You couldn't replace the rear bearings without having the cover off and fluid/magnet condition literally right in their face.
    Exactly. Very suspicious. Not just the bearings, but the axle shafts were supposedly replaced. And both wheel hubs. Now they say one of the wheel hubs is warped. And they wanted to replace the axle shafts again. Checking the current odometer against the first work order from January, the mileage is actually less than 100 miles since all that was allegedly done.

    The irony is that this time they said the U joints were fine. I feel as though I've been robbed. No more CB for me. Never again.
     

    Coyote9

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    14   0   0
    Jan 13, 2020
    1,487
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    Well, it sounds like one of the U joints on my 95 Sonoma is bad. I hear a ticking/clicking noise at low speed that changes with the wheel speed. Probably time with 175k on the vehicle. I have an appointment to take it in this morning to Christian Bros. I thought it might be a simple repair, but looking at it on Gooble, it seems a bit more involved. Apparently the drive shaft is a two piece drive shaft with a support bearing in the middle. U joints are sealed with some sort of nylon sealant that has to be melted out before it can be removed. Will probably need the support bearing replaced too.

    I just spent $2400 on the rear drive axles, wheel bearings and rear brake job in January. This thing is getting expensive to maintain. I figure this is a $400 repair. So, usually I double what I think it's gonna cost and come close to what it actually ends up. It will probably total out to $800 to $1000, LOL.

    After action review to follow.
    I feel your pain, ask about a replacement part that allows lube via needle for the joint. I did that with both a Bronco (now 400k+) and a Dodge 3500. Christian Bros always treated me right.
     
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