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2500 rear end options

Raekal

PM 2021
Full Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2021
Messages
374
Location
Flint, Mi
So, i've got to make a decision with my axle and I figured id grab some extra imput before I go and drop a significant amount of money.

Long story short is that the spindles on my axle are pitted which is allowing gear oil to seep out and coat the rear brake aseembly.

I basically have three main options:

  1. Band aid repair it with a set of speedy sleeves for a few hundred bucks. I've seen people do it, but i have my doubts at the long term.
  2. Replace the whole rear axle with a junk yard axle for somewhere around $1000 in total.
  3. Or replace the whole rear axle with an ATK fully remanufactured one for roughly $2600 in total New bearings, seals, gears, and even full of oil. (this comes with a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty including $50/hr labor reimbursement.)


    The only weird thing on that reman is that for some reason it's listed as only having silverado/ sierra as supported models. But as far as I can tell they're the same axle for both trucks. Even the dealer is showing them having the same parts including calipers and rotors. Gm has different part numbers, but they're the same axle otherwise. Anyone have any insight that that isn't the case?

    The 'compatible' option is by zumbrota. 2 year warranty. $1800 part cost + 1000 core + $250 each way. And doesnt include anything past the spindle, meaning the hubs and axles would have to be transferred from the old axle assembly.All around, stupid expensive.

    It also would be the time to choose whether i wanted to go with the stock 3.73 ratio or go 4.10 seeing as ill be needing to service the front diff's seals.. requiring a drop and rebuild. Would cost me probably an extra $500 if I wanted to swap at the end of the day.Probably isnt worth it. the added potential value is likely to be outshadowned to a great degree by the mpg reduction.

I do intend to keep the truck for a long while, but it is more or less becoming the work truck around here. A trailer puller and a wood getter. Putting money into it doesn't hurt my feelings, it's more of a question of how much i'm getting back out of that money. I see this as one of those cases where its going to cost more to patch over time. Gear oil isnt cheap.
 
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Hard to believe the spindle is pitted so bad on both sides, I taken these apart before and cleaned up the spindle with fine emery cloth but I have never seen one so bad that it couldn't be cleaned up unless it was sitting outside bare with no components on it but I'm sure damage is not uncommon because there are repair sleeves that go over spindle but I don't know how good they are..

So three questions.. One did you take it apart and see this or did a shop tell you this is what it needs.. And do you have pictures..


I would also check the vent line to make sure it is not plugged or kinked which could be causing pressure to build up and push oil by the seals..
 
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Hard to believe the spindle is pitted so bad on both sides, I taken these apart before and cleaned up the spindle with fine emery cloth but I have never seen one so bad that it couldn't be cleaned up unless it was sitting outside bare with no components on it...

So three questions.. One did you take it apart and see this or did a shop tell you this is what it needs.. And do you have pictures..


I would also check the vent line to make sure it is not plugged or kinked which could be causing pressure to build up and push oil by the seals..
It started leaking for the third time after replacing the seals. Took it to the dealer this time around. The technician advised before he did the seals that there was a good chance that it would leak again because of the pitting. if it helps, it's really only been an issue with the driver's side.

Which, the other shop had mentioned back in hindsight saying they would have to replace the axle if that was the cause, but thought it could have been an issue with the axle nut tightness. (I wasn't thrilled, they're the ones that installed it the time before too) Or I should say they apparently failed to notice that they hadnt pinned the axle nut. Which is why i took it elsewhere.

Regardless, no I don't have any pictures to share unfortunately, we're just going to go ahead with the knowledge that its been noted by two places. I'll ask if they happened to take any, but it has the wheels back on it right now.


It isn't unheard of, and seems to be a more common thing with junkyard axles. Most of the talk I see about the spindle pitting is on 4x4 forums, which naturally involve a lot of abused kit. Presumably letting it sit for an extended period and/ or running it with bad seals can cause it. Not to mention typical rust belt nonsense working it's magic.


Outside of high mileage, that seems to be the killer. Which has me uneasy about going the junkyard route.


That said, the bleeder is a good suggestion.
 
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Yes, if moisture gets in behind the seal and rust sets in and causes the pitting.. There may be a sleeve available for it. It's very thin and slides over the seal surface on the spindle and gives a new smooth surface in which the seal can do it's job.. I tried to find one but didn't any luck, some sites that have them you need to know the dimensions of the sealing surface.

Good luck


 
Yes, if moisture gets in behind the seal and rust sets in and causes the pitting.. There may be a sleeve available for it. It's very thin and slides over the seal surface on the spindle and gives a new smooth surface in which the seal can do it's job.. I tried to find one but didn't any luck, some sites that have them you need to know the dimensions of the sealing surface.

Good luck


Yeah, i think this one is the suggested sleeve i keep seeing. https://www.amazon.com/National-Oil-Seals-99282-Redi-Sleeve/dp/B0012UEIHS

You have to make your own tool for for it as the provided tool doesn't fit over the spindle. It's not a bad way to go if that's all that's going on and you want to just pull the hub in the driveway.


Last night after chatting with the dealer I decided to just bite the bullet and buy this reman. https://www.jegs.com/i/ATK-Engines/059/RAXP1957A/10002/-1 (got an extra $100 off. whoo?)

Reasoning is that much of the rest of the underside, the axle assembly is generally rusty. No one wants to touch the diff cover unless they absolutely must for fear that the bolts might break. The truck has 190k miles on it, what are the odds that im going to have to mess with the pinion bearing at some point or get into a mess where im going to replace the diff gasket when it starts to leak and not just weap.

The e brake hardware has been loose (rattling/ jingling on bumps) and the e-brake pads are soaked in oil. the refurb comes with a new set. I can go on, but I think for the upfront cost, starting with a clean slate is going to wind up saving me in the long run.
 
Looks like a good deal all new/remanufactured parts. Are you going to put on new brake lines? I would get the set and and least do the lines on the axle and then as far forward as possible, to the ABS if not to much trouble.
 
Looks like a good deal all new/remanufactured parts. Are you going to put on new brake lines? I would get the set and and least do the lines on the axle and then as far forward as possible, to the ABS if not to much trouble.
Yeah, this is unfortunately just another stepping stone in the ongoing journey with this truck. Bought it cheap and im doing a lot of upgrading. ( i have a whole nother thread on that which ill update once this is done. Hopefully we're going to get it so I can get some pics of the spindle before replacing the whole thing)

It has all new brake lines and rear calipers right now. I also replaced the leaf springs and shocks not too long ago.

I havent had to touch the abs.. yet. Strangely, i have yet to activate it. I hope it's working. xD I don't have any error codes for it. But i drove it all last winter and dont recall it ever turning on. Which i always manage to do on my cars. But i haven't wound up in a snow bank either.. so who knows.

I like to joke that 'pretty soon im going to have a whole new truck'.. i wish that would stop coming closer to the truth. every few months lol.



I really just need to get it up in the air this fall and give her a good rust proofing treatment. With as much as i've replaced over the last year, it's time to get ahead of the decay. God.. i sound like a dentist.
 
Just as a small update, i got the truck back last night. Lets just say that the axle mounts up perfectly, right until you get to the shocks. The Silverado shock mounts are set at an inward angle, while the avalanche's are vertical.

Long story short, we cut the mounts off the old axle and welded them onto the new one. Cost a few hundred extra in labor, but it was either that or undo everything and go junkyard. Labor would have worked out the same.

Frankly, i didn't bring a tape measure to the shop to check the gap, im not entirely sure why he figured we couldn't just cut and reweld the existing ones, but im just happy to have it done now. (I figure by the time you cut either off, there's enough missing material that it would work out the same)

No idea if they would have accepted the core without the mounts, Felt like it would be a lot more hassle if they rejected it. So i ate the $150 and one of the technicians bought it for $50 so he could steal the differential for a personal project.
 
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