My rear driveshaft fell out and am trying to figure out what it is I need to replace. Driveshaft is fine, u-joints fine, my bolt broke and the guy at advance said it would be the pinion gears as the pinion will rock side to side when moved by hand and not up and down.....not sure where to go from here he said it would be a cone or cup but idk how to find out wich one, or what else would have to be replaced.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. And honestly can't remember if they said pinion gears or pinion bearings. Tried calling dealership, gave them vin and they just told me to come in and identify pictures.....that doesn't help as it's not yet torn apart especially with it being so cold and no garage. All I got from the guy was I don't know what it is that your talking about and the price for the ring & pinion....def not spending over a grand after sales tax on that.

 

from the discription it sounds like the pinion gears, but you never know what damage was caused by it letting loose, it may have jacked up all the gears in that rear end, i would pull the cover off and look.

pictures or better yet a video would help us see exactly what is wrong with it. also before you go sinking a ton of money into this axle the gm 10 bolt axle, which is what im guessing this thing has, are really cheap to find as alot of people upgrade and just throw them out, might be cheaper and easier to just pitch it and buy a new one

 

I had the ring gear pin bolt that came out and jecked up all the spider gears,Thats also something to check.Like as mentioned pull the cover and take a look around thats your best bet,

 

The driveshaft is connected to the Pinion yoke. The pinion yoke is connected to the pinion. The pinion is connected to the differential housing though bearings and torqued to that is turns with a very specific pressure via a crush sleeve. The pinion will turn a ring gear that is in the carrier and attached to a carrier via bearings on each side of the carrier. The carrier will have either spider gears or a locking mechanism in the center that connects to the axles. The axles exit the carrier and connect.... nevermind we've gone too far for this game.

The cost for replacing a ring and pinion is actually correct at near $1,000. You need to buy the ring and pinion along with an installation kit and then install them. It is not a difficult process but you need the tools and the specific knowledge to do it correctly.

The easy out is to find somebody selling a 10bolt rear end. They are practically everywhere. First you will need to find out what your current rear end ratio is. You may be able to identify it by finding the code in the glove box, or you might have to open up the rear differential to find the marking on the ring gear. don't worry about taking the cover off the differential, it is broken and will have to be removed. You will not cause any damage by opening it up.

Search craigslist or local 4x4 forums for a suitable replacement. Any 10 bolt axle from a K5 blazer 1975-1991 will work just fine as long as it is the right gear ratio. Lots of guys pull them when they replace them with 14 bolts for wheeling. You should pay about $50 - $100 for a rear end. All you need to do is unbolt the drive line, remove the shocks, undo the u-bolts and remove the brake line.

to install the only thing that you can't do with a crescent wrench and a floor jack is bleed the brakes.

 

Yeah right where are you at?

 

Apology for blunt reply but seriously I think 70-K5 is way off on the price of usd differentials.Maybe $50-$100 on the carrier assembly but for complete around $150-$300 depending on the gear ratio.

 

they must vary depending on where you live, same thing out here. i have never paid over 100 for a 10 bolt axle. in fact the last two sets i got, i got for free i just had to go pick them up. but if you go to a junkyard or someone thinking they have gold they will want alot more


i miss the days when scrap was low and i used to buy entire k5 blazers for 1-200 bucks.

 

Where I live the 342`s and 373`s everybody wants them and that reflects on the price here where I live.I have been looking for 10bolt 342 for my truck,when I find one its out in 10buck2 and the $300 -$400 for it.then when i find one for decent price I dont have the cash.If you have a 308 you can change the ring and pinion but the spiders in mine are shot also so is the carrier where the pin goes through the ring gear.

 

My problem with the whole axle is it is my main means of transportation and I live in northern Ohio so no junkyards in the area have anything usable. When I ask about any shortbed chevy or gm they then change it to oh well we don't have anything that old. When we replaced the driveshaft itself 2 years ago we paid 90 at a junkyard in bfe