05 Tahoe rear diff issue

[BigSachsy1]

Hello all, I recently ran into a problem with my Tahoe. A little background, its an 05 z71 with 22 inch wheels and 131k miles. It's been very well maintained, not a rip on any of the seats, not a drop of oil leaks. When I got it in December 2022, the engine, undercarriage, everything was immaculate and clean. I had an 01 suburban with 300k and a terrible oil leak so im pretty familiar. The Tahoe had 124k on it at the time I got it. So anyways, last week I was driving and noticed a little shake and vibration while accelerating from around 20-40. Over the next 2 or 3 days it got worse. I looked underneath and there was fluid in the back on and around the differential. I limped it to a shop, and the problem seemed to compound on the way there. Terrible vibration, clunking and scraping/grinding noises the whole way. It was only a few miles from my house too. So the mechanic looked at it today and ended up saying I need a new differential. The Pinon gasket/seal seems to be gone, and there is a lot play where the U-joint is, and when you wiggle it, it leaks diff fluid. I am going to link the report the mechanic gave me. He quoted me around 2k to fix it. Thing is, im not even sure if he opened up the diff to see what gears were bad, etc. Something else, I was driving and I turned off the traction control and left it off for a minute or 2. Just wanted to see if I accelerated any faster. I don't try to push it with this car but wanted to see anyway. Could that, and the fact that it has 22 inch wheels, be the reason for the mechanical failure? Any advice or opinions are welcome and thank you if you've made it this far.Tekmetric
https://shop.tekmetric.com/inspectio...NMFKXqi-ZLhEsc

 

[Alex_M]

Your wheels did not cause the issue, nor did leaving off . If you're willing to do some foot work, you can definitely have this issue fixed cheaper. Find a used rear end with the same gear ratio, probably $300-500. Cost to install will be $400-600. I'd ask around and see if there's a reputable indie mechanic in the area to take it on - it's a pretty basic job.

Universal joints are very cheap on Rock Auto. Maybe $8-10 each. $50-100 install on those.

Is your truck 2wd or 4wd?

 

[BigSachsy1]

I was going to go that route, go to the pull-and-pay, get a new rear end and do it myself, but I need to buy a jack, stands, etc and I figured the cost of everything, the place I went to was just a little more expensive than me doing it myself. Quoted me 1700 to do all of it and 4 u joints. I guess they cracked the housing on the rear drive shaft where the u joint is, so need a new one of those, but all in all about 2k for it. I still like to do everything I can myself but in this case I'm just going to eat it and hope it rides strong until the end. Thank you for the response though man.

 

[BigSachsy1]

And its 4wd**

 

[BigSachsy1]

First shop I went to was saying 2k for everything and 400 per drive shaft for the u joints. I was astounded

 

[Mudsport96]

Where do you line that it is 400 bucks to do ujoints?

 

[Trey Hardy]

I was going to go that route, go to the pull-and-pay, get a new rear end and do it myself, but I need to buy a jack, stands, etc and I figured the cost of everything, the place I went to was just a little more expensive than me doing it myself. Quoted me 1700 to do all of it and 4 u joints. I guess they cracked the housing on the rear drive shaft where the u joint is, so need a new one of those, but all in all about 2k for it. I still like to do everything I can myself but in this case I'm just going to eat it and hope it rides strong until the end. Thank you for the response though man.

Shit dude you could get a lower mileage rear end out the pick n pull for 300-500$ plus a couple jacks and stands @harborfreight would still only be maybe 300$ give or take
Plus new fluid and gasket for the differential you’ll still be around or under 1000$ even with going to a shop afterwards to do the u joints for you.

1000$ sure sounds a lot better then 2000-3000$ for labor and parts.
Hey if you go to the pick and pull you might score and justify swapping in a 14bolt out of a Denali or Escalade

If you would rather rebuild your current one I’d atleast beef it up some maybe throw a good locker in it and some Yukon gears

As for the rim size that don’t matter I’ve tan anything from 15s to 26s and 14” wide wheels with 35s/37s on every Chevy I’ve had (5) and never had a rear end torn out and every one had over 200-300,000 miles
Now I’m sure I could break it if I tried hard enough and I’m sure the heavier wheels and tires adds a strain but at the end of the day if you take care of it then it’ll take care of you 90% of the time

 

[BigSachsy1]

Where do you line that it is 400 bucks to do ujoints?

It's not, that's just what the first mechanic quoted me, 400 per drive shaft so 800 total. I went another direction.

 

[BigSachsy1]

Shit dude you could get a lower mileage rear end out the pick n pull for 300-500$ plus a couple jacks and stands @harborfreight would still only be maybe 300$ give or take
Plus new fluid and gasket for the differential you’ll still be around or under 1000$ even with going to a shop afterwards to do the u joints for you.

1000$ sure sounds a lot better then 2000-3000$ for labor and parts.
Hey if you go to the pick and pull you might score and justify swapping in a 14bolt out of a Denali or Escalade

If you would rather rebuild your current one I’d atleast beef it up some maybe throw a good locker in it and some Yukon gears

As for the rim size that don’t matter I’ve tan anything from 15s to 26s and 14” wide wheels with 35s/37s on every Chevy I’ve had (5) and never had a rear end torn out and every one had over 200-300,000 miles
Now I’m sure I could break it if I tried hard enough and I’m sure the heavier wheels and tires adds a strain but at the end of the day if you take care of it then it’ll take care of you 90% of the time

Damn man I wish I would have seen this before I went to the shop my car is at now. I'd still like to do what you said, there are some good low mileage cars at the pick and pulls out here in Arizona.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Had to replace the rear in my 03--too many burnouts. I paid around $400 for the used one I bought, but it was also hard to find. Every yard I called didn't have one.