Went to Bert's Automotive in Vancouver. $89hr labour rate.
8.5hrs labour - about $400 for a bearing kit with new seals and fluid.

Replaced worn pinion bearing, differential side bearings, seals. $1250.

When they got the case apart, they showed me the worn bearings and rings.
Nice guys. I probably paid too much but I'm guessing I got the going Vancouver rate.

If you're looking for rear end or tranny specialists, these guys were great.

 

Ah cool, if you are happy and satisfied, thats money well spent.

 

YOU GOT BONED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You royally got screwed on that, 1250 for new bearings in your diff...............

you coulda bought a new diff through toyota for cheaper than that..... you coulda bought an elocker new through toyota for cheaper than that........

 

lollll

 

Shhhhhhh i didn't wanna say nothin,.

 

Well every shop I talked to including a dealer quoted me $1500 so I don't know how else I could have gotten the work done. Thanks for making me feel like though ......

 

Sounds like she needs a guy,brother,friend or something.Hope she has help next time.

 

ouch.....

 

Warned ya,


I woulda done the labor for free

 

A mechanic says I need new pinion bearings too. He quoted me 'before getting it apart and fing what I need, you're looking at $1200.00." I need advice as well. Is there an alternative to going to a private mechanic $80 per hour? He added he'll need the truck for maybe a week.

 

Dude, find a rig thats being parted out and grab the diff out of it. I wouldn't call myself a Toyota mechanic by any means. But I have some mechanical aptitude and a resource called yotetech. I was able to swap my front AND rear gears in one day no problem. Best thing, I did it for about $250 TOTAL. ($220 for gears, plus a little extra for new gear oil and brake fluid)

If you have the right tools (floor jack, socket set, rtv, fluids) you can get just a rear done in less then 2 hours IF ITS YOUR FIRST TIME. For the experienced folks, 30 minutes to an hour, tops.

Also, ask for help on here. I have a couple folks that live in town that would be able to help me if I needed it.

 

I'd help kiyo.... but he is also part of my group nw toyotas...

 

If you take the 3rd member off yourself and then take it into a shop to just have the gears setup you will save yourself a ton of money in labor.

And you can go onto a website like Trai-lgear.com buy the gears that you want and the installation kit(bearings, shims ect.) for cheaper then most shops will charge.

I know there is a shop around here that will setup the gears for $100 if you take the 3rd member out yourself.

I just got bigger tires so I'm going to have to re-gear here soon as well, 12 MPG just aint doin it for me.

 

Isn't that why this site is here? I mean, I get lots of humor on off topic stuff, but there is alot of things that happen to rigs that has happened before, AND has been discussed on here. Those folks would help at least with advice (good, bad, cheaper route, etc.) on which way to go. Alls you gots to do is ask!

To the PO. If you are happy with the service and the product, that's great. Glad you got it fixed. I guess we need to remember that some folks just don't want to dive in and rip their rig apart by themselves, and there is nothing wrong with it.

 

wow... im sure they had a big ole grin when they bent you over the table...
you've been had...

ever hear of a guy by the name of ZUK???
http://www.gearinstalls.com/
hes THE guy to go to for toyota gears and installs...

 

I'd like to post an update to a problem posted earlier regarding a noise emitting from the rear differential on my truck. There may be other mechanically challenged individuals out there, like myself, who may benefit from additional information.

I had a noise that sounded like a bearing, the source of which proved elusive. I became disappointed with my neighborhood garage for several reasons that only recently became known.

Only after raising the rear end and using a listening device to isolate the source of the noise did we concentrate on the pinion bearing. I had a leaking axle seal a few weeks earlier that was repaired. We discovered only a quart and a half of gear oil remained in the carrier assembly.

A disassembly revealed a worn and pitted pinion bearing and race. I'm guessing running the truck with the differential low on gear oil contributed greatly to the failure.

Long story short, replacement of the pinion bearings and races, crush collar, carrier bearings and races, gasket, seals and gear oil.

$248.36 parts
[U]$700.00 labor
$948.36 total

They also found a rusted through front sway bar link and replaced that as well.

$58.48 part
[U]$50.00 labor
$108.48 total

Runs fine now. Quiet as a church mouse. I learned much reading the posts here and I am gratefull to those who share their knowledge and experience.