my rear end finally gave way. makes a horrible grinding sound and it smokes terribly while driving down the road.

it is a 96 4x4 5spd.

should i rebuild, replace with a totaled vehicle or scrap the whole thing and get another car?

this is my first post and any info will be greatly appreciated.

 

Well, you certainly don't want to scrap the sholw thing out and go get another rig.

Lets start with exactly what went bad. Is the complete rear axle assy toast? Or just the third member? You can buy complete assembled thirds for $175-$675, depending on where you go. Your truck is still worth around 3-5k, so no sense in getting $75 for scrap when you can fix and even sell it if you wanted.

Even if the complete assy is mangled, you can get a used axle assembly from a wrecking yard for a decent price, and fix the truck. Then, you could sell it or again, just keep it and continue to drive it.

 

how much is it to replace the splines and gears?

then i think something is up with the transfer case.

im taking it in to my local 4wheel place monday to evaluate it

its got 177k on the odom too.

 

i'll take it if you scrap it i'll even give ya 100 over that measly 75

Splines and gears in the rear third? just get a junkyard third it would be sooo much cheaper. especially with stock gearings.

if its your tcase then easiest way is a new tcase, even getting it "rebuilt" is going to be more expensive than a new used one. i am not even sure i would trust a rebuilt gear driven transfer case.

 

if you dont already have the rear locker, you can get a rear end off a 4runner with the factory locker already in it from the factory

 

anyone in the Atl area know of a good mechanic to do the rear swap for me?

 

ok.

so i think i sourced a donor. its a 98 4R but it is an automatic.

will the transfer case be different? i also need to make sure i have the same gears in rear diff as the donor, correct?