My rear-end sound was like a growl/humm -- this is what was replaced last month on my '02 RS (from the Chevy work order):
The pinion and side bearings were pitted -- they replaced all bearings -- Pinion, Axle, Side bearings, pinion and axle seals.

3 Seals
6 Bearings
1 Spacer
1 Gasket
2 Lubricant

Took 4.5 Hrs. $391 in parts, $450 in labor -- extended warranties on my Camaros have ALWAYS more than paid for themselves...

 

Little PBBlaster, and the diff cover came right off. Unfortunately... no oil came out. Just a tiny dribble. Doh! Doesn't look all that bad, though:

 

I got the driveshaft unbolted from the U-joint, but it's in tight. How do I get it out of the U-joint? Should I use a crowbar for leverage, or do I need to unbolt it where it's fastened in the middle of the car? The way the car's sitting on the ramps, I'm going to have a heck of a time reaching those bolts...

Also, there's some play in the driveshaft where it enters the differential. Is that a sign of pinion bearing failure?

 

from the looks of it, running it without oil has ruined the gears. i can see what looks like metal shavings at the bottom of the housing. im pretty sure if you have a carrier bearing u will have to unbolt it to get the driveline out, should be just two bolts. then u can put a crow bar under the ujoint and pry it out. dont get carried away. it shouldnt take that to much pressure using a bar. i would say this rear unit will need all bearings and gears to repair. that would include the wheel bearings on the axles. go get a used one and save some bucks.

 

You need to get the rear tires off the ramps and hold the rear of the car up securely with jack stands under the rear axle. Put the trans in neutral, and rotate the driveshaft to where you can access two of the rear u-joint retainer bolts. Remove the bolts and retainer. Then rotate the driveshaft around and do the same to the other two bolts. If you need to, put the trans back in park each time to hold the driveshaft from turning. You can then pop the u-joint off the pinion yoke by prying between the joint and yoke with a screwdriver. The driveshaft will slide forward enough for the joint to clear the yoke, but you may need to do some rotating of the driveshaft to get it to drop clear. Don't let the end caps pop off the u-joints, and put tape around them after you get the driveshaft free. That big nut holding the pinion yoke on is what can be a beach to get off. You might be better off working with the front in the air and the rear wheels on the ground (e-brake on) to help hold the yoke from turning. Do you have an impact wrench? That would make life easier.

 

Guess I did it right then, that's exactly what I did right before you posted this The driveshaft pried out without too much difficulty with a screwdriver, too, thanks for the tip! Right now I've got one tire on the ramp, and the other on a jackstand. Guess my next task is to drop the other tire back to the ramp, too. Would it help if someone pressed the brake pedal while I turned the nut, do you think?

Craby- there's a tiny bit of shavings on the magnet, but this dif has 160,000 miles on it. There's no shavings visible in the differential at all. All the gear surfaces have a translucent coat of oil on them still, and none are showing visibly undue wear. I'm more worried about the pinion bearing right now. I'll have to see how it looks when the nut comes off. I didn't even try to take if off yet, just soaked it in PB Blaster and will let it sit. I'll try before it gets dark, I think, but if it's got 200lbs of torque on it, there's no way it's coming off with the tools I've got. Still debating whether or not to buy an impact wrench, but this might just end up being the excuse I've been looking for!

 

From here it doesn't look bad, and metallic sludge on the magnet is normal. I guess you'll see more when you pop the pinion bearing out. To get the nut off, you'll need a breaker bar, maybe even with a length of pipe slipped over it. If you can't break it free by hand, have the bar so that it's hanging down towards the left side of the car. Then get your floor jack under the handle of the bar and jack it up. Take it slow and hold the socket on the nut so it doesn't slip off and round the nut.

 

...Surprised the heck out of me, but the pinion nut came right off. 3/4" ratchet with finely tuned hits from a rubber mallet to check preload as I removed it Didn't even have to hit it all that hard. The u-bolt yoke came right off, too. There were the remnants of a spring-ish wire loop wrapped around it, too. No idea where THAT came from. I'll finish chiseling the seal off tomorrow. But there's no rubber left on the seal, none at all.



BTW, thank you for all your help, Camaro69, you're awesome!!!!

 

You're welcome, glad you got it. I'm surprised the nut wasn't welded on with rust.
Also, you want to re-torque the pinion nut the same (or as close) as it was when you removed it.
The "200" lbs. of torque (and even up to 300) I was referring to earlier is when installing new bearings, and a new crush spacer. There is a spacer between the inner and outer pinion bearings that crushes down in length from the extremely high torque, and that sets the proper bearing preload. On an r&r using the same parts, you don't torque the nut very high at all.

 

OK, now I can't get the damned old seal out I've been using a blunt chisel like the chilton's guide recommended, but I can only get to about 1/4 of it, and it's just bending and tearing the seal in half rather than prying it out. I sprayed on a bunch more PB Blaster, but I'm not sure how to proceed from here. I was thinking maybe trying to get a screwdriver or something through the gaps in the differential and hammer it out from the backside?