Rear Axle

I took my Jeep into the shop today becase something in the drivline is clunking when I stop and sometimes when I start. They said that the gears in the rear axle are worn and that I would need to rebuild it. I was quoted around $1200 for at the shop, but i was wondering if anyone has rebuilt their rear axle before themselves, and how much you spent. Thanks.

35 or 8.25?

and do you trust this shop? is your truck still there? did u ask to be shown the damaged parts?

did they pull the rear cover to check the gears?\

id ask to be shown the rearend

the reason i suggest this is because gears dont normally jsut 'wear out', shims may wear down some and cause a lil slop, bearing could go bad etc

Go somewhere else! $1,200 should get you a lot more than just gears and labor. Without knowing your abilities, it is hard to recommend whether to do it yourself or not. I did my own with no experience, but I read a lot of books, recorded about 7 different rebuilds on various TV shows and then watched them about a thousand times and then had at it. So far, so good. It's really not that hard if you just take your time and double and triple and quadruple check that you stay within specs (backlash, etc.). Randy's Ring & Pinion has a great book that will walk you through the process.

Figure for expenses:

$150-200 for quality ring and pinion.
$80 for master rebuild kit.
$20 for new gear oil.
$400-600 for labor.

At best you're looking at under $1,000 to have it done, or you can do it yourself. Even with labor, for $1,200, you should be getting close to the price including a cheap locker.

Like both Cox and Rosco mentioned, check around. Check the gears or get a 2nd opinion. If it is the gears and you decide to have someone else do the work, then do your homework. In addition to varying prices for labor, I know a lot of professional mechanics who don't check backlash and simply re-install the original shims. If you're ok with that, then great. If not, make sure the shop knows how to set up gears properly. You'll be amazed how many don't.

Good luck!

Could just be worn out U-joints, that was my problem. It clunked when I stopped and started also in/out of D. easy fix, worth a look. Just my .02

Or just buy another axle and swap it in.

Gears don't clunk, they whine. U Joints clunk- slip yokes clunk- brake calipers clunk.
If you take it to that mechanic he will ching, ching......Get another opinion...

its the 8.25 and no i didnt leave it there. i was just getting my tires balanced and asked them to check it out. thats just waht they said. i assumed it was the u-joints. any way to tell for sure?

jman said:

I took my Jeep into the shop today becase something in the drivline is clunking when I stop and sometimes when I start. They said that the gears in the rear axle are worn and that I would need to rebuild it. I was quoted around $1200 for at the shop, but i was wondering if anyone has rebuilt their rear axle before themselves, and how much you spent. Thanks.

Click to expand...

This diagnoses is highly questionable. As someone else pointed out gears don't normally wear out. Many XJ's see 200k+ on the original gears. You have a 2000 model, I doubt you have worn out your gears. More likely your clunking noise is caused by worn drive shaft u-joint(s). Even if it were bad gears, you could pick up a perfectly good axle at a recycler for $300 ish, and just bolt it in.

Get a second opinion from a good reputable drive line shop.

:sure:

I've got an 8.25" for sale for $75 if it comes down to that. But like was said before, it's most likely just worn u-joints. Go find a reputable shop and get a second opinion......

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Sounds like the shop owner has a new baby on the way