i have a 95 silverado with a 5.7L, i am having issues with my rear differential making noise and also leaking fluid. i crawled under and found out that the seal is leaking and there is a dime size hole in the back plate on the differential case. Would it be smarter to replace the whole rear end or rebuild the 3.73 gears??

 

are the gears all tore to crap? If the gears aren't tore up i would just put an after market differential cover and reseal it.

 

same here is the hole from something hitting it from the outside?

 

It goes through all the gears just fine. just makes a noise when i go faster. almost like a rattling noise. so i idk if something internal of the pumpkin was busted off and shot out of the seal cover.

 

no it looks like something from the inside shot out. because the hole is there and the metal that is suppose to be where the hole is, is still attatched to the cover. kind of bent out. dime size hole.

 

You need to take the cover off, drain it empty, spray it out to clean it and walk the gears around looking at the pinion, ring and side gears for chips. Check the center pin to be tight and inplace. They have been know to come loose and the pin will walk out on decel mostly and bind. Do you hear a rotational popping sound like what most people think a bad universal joint would sound like? If the center pin moves outboard far enough it will lock up and shatter the side gears. If you have a hole in the cover from the inside out you have likely lost enough gear lube that you will likely find a host of issues to fix. My son blew his out, We went to a salvage yard and bought an assembly out of another truck for $800. Sounds like a lot until you price the ring and pinion alone will exceed that if you buy from Chevy. In the process we got a limited slip unit as an upgrade in the process which makes a world of difference on the soft muddy trails and trying to climb up and out of the other side of the creek. After you price the parts remember most labor is $100 an hour unless you find a tech that will do it after hours and has the tools to set up the ring and pinion gears properly.

 

Junkyard time. You don't want to rebuild one. There is alot of things in rebuilding one.

 

Hey thanks i think what my plan to do is to take the cover off and see what she looks like inside. i drive on paved roads daily, i dont do off roading, muddy or sandy terrain so upgrading to limted slip isnt an option for me.