giosoccer20

Yesterday I heard a slicing sound start from the back of my car. Sounds like a pad rubbing against a rotor. Took it to a local sears auto to have the brakes checked out. Turns out the front brakes are bad, including calipers, pads, and rotors. Also, the rear rotors have rust built up on them, but otherwise are good.

Now for the worse news. They took me into the shop and spun the rear axle by hand. There was a grinding noise coming from the differential does this mean the rear is about to go? Can I keep driving it? I wanted to drive 150+ miles tomorrow in all (to the beach and back) but maybe I shouldn't?

I just want to say, I haven't noticed any problems from the rear end myself, unless that slicing sound is coming from there? Only yesterday did I hear one loud clunk from the rear but have heard nothing else since then. Rolling the cae in neutral, I heard nothing bad today.

I also want to say, I bought this car a week and a half ago. P/o said he swapped the differential fluid, but maybe he forgot to add diff fluid additive? How important is that? Should I just start looking for a new rear end assembly? And how much does that all cost in the end

NC01TA

Sears may be accurate in their brake assessment but you might want to spend the $$ for another opinion in ref to the differential or rear end.
If the rear end, bearings, seals, yoke kit, etc.. need replacing, a good shop will be charging $1,200 plus. It can't be done 'half-way' with debris floating around in the fluid. It will destroy other components. You just can't flush fluid. It appears the prior owner may have sold the car after learning of the expensive repairs needed. Unfortunate, but let's hope for the best with another opinion.
Also, NO, I would not drive it that distance at this time.

giosoccer20

Thanks for the reply. Do you think I should proceed with a diff fluid flush and also make sure the additive is added? I'll get the brakes taken care of, so if that takes care of the slicing sound then I won't have much to worry about since I haven't noticed anything with the rear end accept for that one clunk. I had it to the beach just last week.

giosoccer20

Also, the bearings and stuff all seem good, so I don't really need the entire assembly. That being said, what would be cheaper, rebuilding just the diff, or getting an entire rear end from a junkyard?

im-not-guilty

iTrader: (4)

Where you from ??
And I don't believe you need a additive in a 2000 car if it has the original torsion carrier

giosoccer20

I believe it is original, like the owner said. I also found some moisture around the diff when I looked under it this morning. Maybe he didnt change the gasket when replacing the diff oil, and it has lost some, causing this? Or it's a U-joint...but I don't have any other symptoms of a bad u-joint like rattling or the car vibrating etc etc.

Also, I am located in Media, PA. around 30 min outside of Philly.