AWD Denali front end noise

[DirtyBlackHoe]

Well I have a 2004 Yukon Denali that seems to have the dreaded front end noise associated with carrier bearings going out. I called a few shops and they want between 600-950 to replace all the bearings in the front end and that just seems insane to me. I was wondering what was the normal going price to have this done. I also thought about buying a used differential and swapping it in, but a used AWD case is not cheap so here is my thought:

Can I just buy a 4wd front diff and swap out the passenger axle tube from my AWD diff to it and run it? Is there anything that I should replace while it is apart? Just wanting to make sure I have the right idea. I can get a 2001 diff with the correct gears out of a z71 for 275...

 

[04SS99Denali]

if your bearings are going in your front end i would have the whole thing rebuilt not just repaired. you dont know where the bearing material is going and it could be caught up somewhere you dont know about and toast your new unit. generally a front end rebuild is about ~1000$ maybe a bit less depending on the shop. 650-900 seems about right for the bearings to be replaced. i am not sure if the swap would work i dont think it would because the AWD system is different from the 4wd system. i know from the silverado SS crowd there is no alternate repair for the front ends going out other than converting to RWD and deleting AWD

 

[DirtyBlackHoe]

Thanks a ton for the information. What all is included in a whole rebuild vs having the shop install all new bearings and seals? Are you saying I need to replace the gear set as well?

 

[kses123]

I just had mine replaced and it was $509.