OT Chevy Truck Rear End

Off Topic, but I do use the truck to pull a trailer with my tractor on it.: ) I was wondering if anybody has had a rear end rebuilt, and a ball park price on parts and labor. Mine is sloppy and noisy, and all the ones I"ve found used have 150-200,000 miles on them and are priced at 4-600 bucks. This is a 10 bolt Chevy rear end from a 95 C-1500. Thanks, Mike B.

I have one out of an 85 1/2 ton you can have for $50 bucks. Nothing wrong with it. I just have no use for it and it is in my way. It is in western Indiana.

Did you try looking on car-parts.com? They are not joking when they say they list 110 million parts.
click here

I have a Chevy rear end from a 1 ton in
real good condition for $100.00. It is
for either duals or single wheels. The
brakes and drums are also in good condition.

If you can get one for $400, I bet that's cheaper than rebuilding. How many miles are on yours? My '92 C1500 has 260k on it, and the rear is just fine. Check your local Craigslist for one, might do better on price.

You can get a gear set and installation kit from Richmond Gear for less than $400. If you have access to a press and some hand tools you can do it yourself with the instructions provided.

I do all the labor my self and I just rebuilt a rear end on my 1980 Chev this year. Cost me less then $250 for parts which included one axle. Not all that hard to do if you have the right skills to do so

No way would I put a used, high mileage rear end in a C-1500. These rear ends typically start getting noisy at 100K, and it's about as much work to swap them out as it is to rebuild them in the vehicle. If you rebuild it yourself, you'll need a dial indicator (to set the ring gear backlash) and an inch-pound torque wrench (to set the pinion bearing preload). You'll also need a slide hammer if you're going to do the wheel bearings. And you'll need an appropriate socket and a big pipe wrench to tighten the pinion nut. I did mine in my '88, and it wasn't too hard.

There's a couple of ways to go about it. You can either just get a bearing kit, which will be less than $200 bucks. Or you can go whole hog: bearing kit, ring and pinion set, locking differential and wheel bearings. That will set you back around $600, but you will have an all new rear end and a locking diff to boot.

I bought everything I needed from a local business, Drive Train Specialists. They also do business on the web, see the link below.

A few tips:

Reuse your old pinion gear spacers, that way you won't have to set the pinion gear depth, which requires a special tool. (As I recall, the replacement pinion gear will be marked if it's not at the standard depth and requires a different spacer thickness.

The bolts securing the ring and pinion are left hand thread.

If you're replacing the ring gear, heat it on your barbecue grill to expand it. (Rather than Momma's oven.)

Good luck.
Drive Train Specialists

Bob if the other fellow doese't want it I am interested I am in southwestern ind Where excatly are you??

I Just purchased a complete DANA 60 rear axle,
from a Ford F250 van for $200. It had 73000 miles.It came from a local junkyard, and
they pulled it out and loaded it on my truck.

I'd had many 10 bolt rears last 200K - 300K with no problems, but that's with light-duty use. They are not designed for heavy work. The older Chevy "Heavy Half-tons" had optional 12 bolt rears instead.

The miles don't mean much. It's more about how it was used and cared for. I've seen many 10 and 12 bolt rears get ruined at repair shops the first time a new pinion seal was installed. Many jerks don't understand the concept of bearing preload and crush. Especially true with the 10 and 12 bolt rears since they use a "crush-collar." Pinion nut gets installed too tight, and a few miles later the pinion bearings burn up.

In regard to your rear - cost to fix depends on what's actually wrong with it. Since the axle bearings ride directly on the axles, often the axles get worn out and need replacement.

You say your's is noisy and loose? Seems you might want to find out why first. A bearing noise is very different from a worn ring-and-pinion noise, and axle wear/slop is very easy to detect. A few minutes of inspection with the tin cover off will tell you all you need to know.

As far as cost of used axles? I've been able to find them all over for $50 or $100 and sometimes free. Don't know why they're so pricey by you. Seems you're looking in the wrong places. Keep in mind matching a used complete axle assembly might not be so easy since you need to match whatever brake package your truck has as well as gear-ratio.

I've got a mountain of 10 bolt rears here, probably over 20 and all are fine. All either 3.08s or 3.42s.

$700 will get you a rebuilt diff(gears,bearings,seals,labor) in my neck of the woods.I also run synthetic lube in all my diffs.

I went through 2 of those 10 bolts, then went to Drivetrain specialists that Mark mentioned. Had them build me a Dana 60 to bolt right in. Got a "powr loc" locker too. A little pricey, but a very good piece of mind. Jim

http://www.drivetrainspecialists.com/categories/trutrac/

I am in Hymera, north east Sullivan county 4 miles west of Shakamak State Park and 6 miles east of US41 right off HY 48. Come fetch! First one here gets it. 812-383-4234 or 812-383-0540 cell.