Rear End replacement

[Jeremy_C]

My mechanic told me the rear end is fried..... He's wrote 41/11 8 1/2 and that its wasted.

I have a 84 swb pickup.... 350, Turbo-350 transmission. What do I need to look for? Just internal gears or the whole rear-end? Talk to me like i'm 6.

 

[dhcomp]

If all your mechanic said is "your rear end is wasted", find a new mechanic. If he gave you more details than that, pass them along.

41/11 is a tooth count on the gear ratio, which ends up being 3.73 gears. 8.5 is the ring gear size on the 10 bolt rear end. Basically, sounds like he is giving you this info because either you need new gears, or need a whole rear axle to match this ratio. Common ratio.

Try and figure out if more is wrecked, or just the gears are f'd. My guess is you trashed the gears and whatever limited slip or open carrier was there, but that the shafts, bearings, hubs, drums, etc are probably fine. BUT, if you need to replace much there, its cheaper to find a decent condition rear end of hte same ratio, and just swap the whole thing.

Give us some more info, and we'll help you out.

 

[sweetk30]

6 year old question........

yes little jeremy we need more info on your tonka truck thats broken.


you said talk to you like you were 6 years old.

adult = realy tho. we need to know what all is bad. ? pics would be super if you can get them.

you can rebuild the diff. but if its to bad and to much junk went threw it it might not be worth the time.

and if you can get the whole rear axle used and bolt it in it will save you time and money.

 

[Jeremy_C]

Its been leaking gear oil from the pinion shaft seal since i've had it, I've kept it full of oil and my trips limited untill i could get it fixed. It was empty of oil when i bought it, so its untelling how much the PO drove it empty of gear oil.

I've not had a chance to speak with him in person, my g/f paid for it and we picked it up after hours.

My G/F thinks he said the gears were chewed up, and it was just a matter of time before it grenaded. He's a good mechanic, used him for years. He will give me more detail if i can ever get back in town before they close.

I WANT MY TONKA TRUCK FIXED NOW!!!!

 

[sweetk30]

dam little 6 year old cry babys

sounds like best bet is a whole used rear axle assembly.

that thing will be distorted from tons of heat and metal shavings threw it from stuff grinding apart.

fast and easy to just swap a good used axle under the truck.

then we dont have to listen to you cry anymore you 6 year old

 

[Jeremy_C]

Thats kinda what I figured.


I'm hungry, go fix me something to eat.

 

[chulisohombre]

prob cost you 400-700 to have him rebuild it and set the r&p.at least thats what ive been quoted before.junkyard axle around 100 bucks.just make sure you open it up and check it out before you leave with it and make sure it looks good and has the correct gearing.if you got new brakes on your current axle you can switch them over to the new axle and still be ahead on cash.

 

[sweetk30]

and 5 lug from the same body style as long as 10 bolt will swap in if need be. just swap your shafts over.

and like said if your brakes are real good and doner is junk. just pull the shafts and 4 bolts and swap the whole loaded backing plate over. its that easy. and if your real good you can bungy cord them up and not even pull the brake lines off if thay are still good.

if you got anymore questions just ask .

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

Pinion bearings are much more likely to be toast than the gears, especially if it was run low on fluid and you saw the seal leaking (often a leaking seal is a symptom of bad pinion bearings).

As mentioned, fixing your rear end will cost quite a bit. It's easy and cheap to find a good used one, they're everywhere. I ended up giving away my 3.73 geared 12 bolt because I couldn't even sell it for $20.

 

[Jeremy_C]

Picture of the rear gears. When i took the rear diff cover off, they didn't look damaged to my newb eyes. I did notice on the inside of the rear diff cover, there was a small gash that looked like something had struck it from the inside.

I'm kind of pissed I paid 250.00 to replace the rear pinion seal and the gasket, and they turn around and tell me this rear end is no good. I'm gonna drive it till the damn thing explodes.

 

[sweetk30]

250 to check and change a seal

screw that.

a good mechanic would have asked if you wanted to dump any money in it and not just took yours and ran with it.

 

[Jeremy_C]

I know it.....i've used these same guys for years. I dont understand what the problem is. Probably time to change mechanics.

 

[NorCal_Chris]

250 could have almost had you a 14bff and and 8 lug swap for your front end :P

 

[Jeremy_C]

Rear end is still there..... something is squeaking as I drive though. I cant tell where its coming from, sometimes it sounds like its from the front, other times from the rear.

I'll crawl under the truck and check the u-joints....i'm sure new brakes are in the immediate future. Is there a particular sound the rear end will make before it grenades its self?

 

[chulisohombre]

Rear end is still there..... something is squeaking as I drive though. I cant tell where its coming from, sometimes it sounds like its from the front, other times from the rear.

I'll crawl under the truck and check the u-joints....i'm sure new brakes are in the immediate future. Is there a particular sound the rear end will make before it grenades its self?

i blew 2 rear 12 bolts and 1 made a whirring sound when i let off the gas,and then blew up 6 months later.pinion bearing went and i f i had cought that the whirring was the bearings i could have saved the axle.when it went it took the housing with it.i was also in the middle of nowhere so i drove it broken 15 miles back to the base with no fluid in it.i didnt know what was wrong with it because it was night and i didnt have a flashlight.