mgcook

iTrader: (3)

Any special tools or tips I should know about?

My car makes a noise from the rearend. I've been told by 3 mechanics its the axle bearings, so I'm going to tear into it this weekend and see what's up with it.

Also, where should I get the new bearings from and which fluid should I put back in it?

Thanks guys

wichoms4

what rear end stock 10bolt? i got mine at the dealership. had a rearend shop do the bearings. out of what your saying its the bearings for sure. had the same issue.

Red96TA

iTrader: (14)

You might want to have someone there that knows what they are doing. I tore into mine this weekend and it turned into a all weekend thing, and tore some stuff up too. You gotta be careful and take your time. But you will need a bearing puller, and bearing installer (can be rented at autozone for free). And you can buy the bearings and oil there too. I think its 75w-90 thats recomended. And some limitedslip-posi additive. If you have never done it before though, I would really reccomend you take it somewhere to have it done.

mgcook

iTrader: (3)

My dad has rebuilt many GM rear ends, so he will be doing most of the work. He has all the tools needed to do it too.

I have some cheap 75w-90 with LSD additive laying around, but I may go with some better stuff for now.

BlackScreaminMachine

iTrader: (17)

If your going that far, you might as well rebuild the who rear. Bearings in the diff or bearings at the end of the axles, its tough to know exactly.

Adam013085

I just replaced all my bearings and have the same sound as before....its my axle that has a groove in it...so I am gonna replace the axle myself

mgcook

iTrader: (3)

well i hope it doesn't come to that.

if it does, i know where a perfectly good rear end is for $100. i'll just have it rebuilt with some 4.10's and put it in.

Jonathan@Tick

iTrader: (5)

Since the axle bearing rolls directly against the axle the axle itself is usually damaged. The axle acts as the race for the bearing. There are bearings called "relocator" bearings that move the bearing and seal as an assembly outward but they always leak.

We typically charge about 1.5 hrs to replace both sides. Other than just ordinary tools, you'll probably want an axle bearing service kit along with a slide hammer to get them out.

You should be able to diagnose exactly which bearing is making the noise with a mechanics stethoscope if you jack the car up and have someone give the car some throttle while in gear. Just make sure you support it under the rear itself so the tires don't rub against the bumpstops. If the noise is in the center of the rear just replace them all, otherwise the axle bearings are fairly easy to replace without tearing into the assembly of the rear itself.

-Jonathan

mgcook

iTrader: (3)

Damn, I guess if all else fails i'll just bring it to you guys and let you rebuilt the whole thing.

mgcook

iTrader: (3)

I got the axles out (1 hour job at most, big deal)

But before I took them off, I had the rotors off. So I was turning the axles while still in the rear, and I could hear the same noise as before. This was while the driveshaft was NOT turning only the axles and whatever they turn inside the diff.

The axles don't have any grooves in them either.

Jawsgear

iTrader: (2)

You most likely have bad pinion bearings not axle bearings. A lot of people make this misconception when diagnosing a noise in the rearend. The noise you hear is the internal gears spinning in the positraction. Common to hear. What kind of noise was it making? Constant, increase with speed? Check out our technical section on our website for diagnosing the tpe of noise you have. Any questions give me a call. Hope this helps.

Jeff

mgcook

iTrader: (3)

It increased with speed but after about 30mph the noise was constant. You can hear it almost immediately when taking off.

It was pretty low on fluid and had quite a bit of metal shavings in it.