Hey guys I've got a couple issues going on with my 2000 v6 camaro. The pinion barring in the rear axle is going out. At this point should i go ahead and have the rear end rebuild? A couple years ago (approximately 4 to 5 years) we had all the gears in the rear axle replaced which was related to another issues. But the axle is starting to leak on the drivers side, its not a lot but it is leaking. Any options?

 

If the gears are still in good shape I would just to the bearings. You are going to look at everything real close. When bearings fail they tend to put metal into oil. That metal can cause wear very quickly on gears. Might want to just find a low miles Z28 rear and put some new seals on it.

FYI: Axle leaks tend to drop grease on the brakes.

 

thanks for the reply, we opened the cover and we drained out all the grease and didnt see any metal and we checked out the gears everything seems to be fine other than that bearing. Around how much do you think it would cost to fix it?

 

I'm surprised the pinion bearings went out so soon. When the gears were changed, ALL of the center section bearings should have been changed as well. Perhaps that gear change job was half-arsed and the old bearings weren't replaced? Chalk it up as a lesson learned if that's the case. Even if you want to change just the pinion bearings, the ring/pinion gear lash and bearing preload needs to be done again, the same as if the gears were just replaced. Be sure to replace the carrier bearings too. Having gears that aren't that old, I'd opt for a rebuild over replacing the entire axle with a used one. At least that way, you know what you have.

 

Yea and open diff with 2.73's. Change the whole rear and it could be a Posi unit with 3.42's but that just me

 

True. I wasn't thinking about the importance of having a posi, what with the stump pulling torque of the 3.8!! lol
I also didn't see him mention what gears they put in it a few years ago?