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Blew up my rear diff.

I

Ignato

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About a month ago, I went out to eat with my friends. I have a gov-lock in the rear diff, and it decided to freeze up when I turned a corner and start shooting gears out the cover. (A sight to see, I'll tell you that!) Anyways, after I gathered up enough money, I sent it to desert rat to get her fixed up.
I was curious if any of you think I may have gotten screwed on the price.
This is what they replaced:
-Both axle shafts
-New 3.08 ring and pinion
-10B GM 8.5" case
-R&P master kit gm 8.5"
-new bearings and oil seals
-new diff. cover
Basically it looks to me like everything inside the axle.
The price they charged me was $940.00.
That also includes the 300 dollar labor charge. Any of y'all think they may have taken advantage of poor little old me??
Thanks.
 
Probably screwed you on the shafts if the weren't broken...otherwise, that's exactly what happens when a gov-lok blows up... BTW, got any pics??? /forums/images/graemlins/deal.gif
 
sounds waaaaay hi to me.
you could have gotten another one from the junkyard for
$200 and installed it yourself for free, or paid to
have it installed for about $200
 
For all the new parts that you got, that isn't a bad price. /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif Shops around here were quoting me $1,100 to replace just the gears and bearings in the rear end of my S-Jimmy. But indeed, it would have been a LOT cheaper to just swap in a junkyard rear end. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
I don't think it's bad for what you got; seems like the going rate. However, we just picked up a 14 bolt full floating rear and Dana 44 front with 4.10's for $60 /forums/images/graemlins/deal.gif. I have to cut them off of the frame but the swap is really straightforward and the result is a much stronger rear axle.
 
Seems fair to me but you could have bought a 14sf or a 12 bolt for less then half the price. Hell if you look you can often pick up a $12 bolt for $100 . Sometimes a 14FF.
 
$180 - $90/axle shaft
$190 - ring and pinion
$175 - open carrier
$60 - all bearings and seals including pinion
$22 - cover

So, it came out about right. This is from the stealership. You can get rings and pinions for as cheap as $120. The bearings and seals are a lot cheaper elsewhere as well. New carriers are expensive, even for an open one. The "master" kit merely comes with new bearings, seals, and shims. 99% of the time it's not needed. Make sure you get the leftover parts from them.

However, go make them give you every single old part. By law, they must give you all your old parts except for cores in which they must provide you with a chance to look at it. You can also force them to provide documentation that they did buy new parts and not just go junkyarding.

I'm willing to bet you didn't need new axle shafts and they just charged you for new ones and kept the old ones to put in someone else's vehicle.

I've learned only one thing from a place that does automotive work commercially. They will try to cut corners as often as they can, sometimes try to cut it twice, and they will take you for as much money as you're worth.
 
In all truth the whole thing supposedly came out to about 1,500 dollars. BUT, that was not the quote they gave me at the beginning. (They didn't take as good of look at it as they should have) I fought it and got the price down.
I did recieve all of my old parts..er... what was left of them..hehe. Including the axle shafts. I'm not sure what good axle shafts look like, so I have no idea in what condition these are in. They're still in one piece, thats all I know!
Let me tell you, my service at Desert Rat was horrible. The only time I got any information out of them was when I called them. Then they would tell me they ordered the wrong parts, all there mechanics were on "vacation". They initially told me two days, I didn't get my vehicle back untill two WEEKS later. That was, of course, after they forgot to call me when my Blazer was done. I don't know if I'll be getting any more work done there. Just like you said, wrathORC, the first priority for a commercial business is to make money. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
 
not bad i was paying around 800 about five years ago complete rebuild with a brute strength posi unit 4 12bolts later i got smart and put in a dana 60 no problems since
 
I think the labor price was fair, hell everyone locally wants $200-300 just to set up gears in one axle. I am relly considering just living with my 3.08's due to it costing me more to have mine installed than I would pay for the gears. hindsight is 20/20 but if it was me I would have just bought a set of 3/4 tons. But I understand not wanting to swap to 3/4 tons too, now your have to but the axles plus wheels and tires. Might have come out about the same, but never know.
 
hmm, this kinda freaks me out, I have a 10bolt with gov-lok, should I be expecting something like this with normal driving, and I just changed diff fluid and looked great!
/forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif
 
My truck had the 30spl gov lock 10 bolt originally. the previos owner babied the thing and it blew up going around a corner on him , no wheeling ever! he did tow with it tho, maybe that did it.
 
I hear that the gov-lock giving out is a common problem, but I'm definitally not the expert on the subject. After spending close to a thousand dollars on the rear, I better not have any problems for a VERY long time!!
 
my gov-bomb went driving around a corner too, and the truck did tow, that probly did do it, and yes, could of bought a whole other complete axle for about 100$ and saved yurself 800$, i got my 12 bolt for free from a friend, with a matching complete 10 bolt front axle, which i have as a spair. but it pays to know how to do work yourself, pays off in the long run /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

/forums/images/graemlins/usaflag.gif /forums/images/graemlins/truck.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
-Both axle shafts

[/ QUOTE ]

Usually (but not always) the axle shafts survive a gov-lok explosion. The shafts may have been pitted/worn at the wheel bearings. They also may have had trouble getting matched 28 or 30 spline components /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
However, go make them give you every single old part. By law, they must give you all your old parts except for cores in which they must provide you with a chance to look at it. You can also force them to provide documentation that they did buy new parts and not just go junkyarding

[/ QUOTE ]
somebody above me said this.
its true. IF i ever have anything done at a shop i watch them if i can. some times this is not feasable. so when i come to pick up the truck, i ask to see the parts just before i pay. in some states, (CA) they are SUPPOSED to ask you, by law, if you want to see the broken/worn/bad parts. i wait for them to ask, and if they dont then i ask.

i have had a tranny shop in cali try to get me to pay for [naughty word] i didnt need. lets just say i didnt pay for that convertor. yeah, blackmail is illegal as well, but you can get away with it.

the price sounds right man. fill out your profile please. if you are in the Yuma AZ area i can help ya on your next repair/mods/whatever. if not someone out here can. and save you a lot of cash and let ya lear a bit if ya dont already know. thats what the site is for.
Grant
 
personally i have seen alot of 88-up 8.5" 10 bolt axles blown up, a friend of mine has blown up his in his 95 K1500 twice already and had to but new gears and all for it,

the old 12 bolts werent know for alot of pinion stem and ring gear strength, but damnat least tons of them didnt blow up for no reason at all, id evne see about finding a pre-88 10 bolt to put under the truck, i wil never trust late 80s axles except the 60s and 14's and larger, soemthing went wrong with the 8.5" around 87 and 88

good luck
 
[ QUOTE ]
The shafts may have been pitted/worn at the wheel bearings.

[/ QUOTE ]

But of course, repair bearings are probably $20/side.
 
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