Just peeked under my suburban and saw that my front axle tube is cracked, right where the tube meets the diff housing. What all is needed to repair/replace the tube? I've already looked online and found the axle tube, gasket and bearing. Of course, I'll need diff oil (75w90 synth, I'm guessing). Are there any other parts I'll need to do this? Don't even know how long it's been like this. There's no noise coming from the front end. I'd just rather fix this so it doesn't get much worse.

2001 suburban LS, 194k miles

 

Try and find out why it cracked and fix the problem, so it won't happen again. Take it to a good welding shop, they might be able to repair it and save all of the work and money needed to replace it.

 

Update: 4wd still seems to work. It starts to bind when in turns though. All of the nuts and bolts are still tight and appear to be lined up correctly.

 

Found a replacement diff and axle tube. Don't know the condition of the one with the cracked tube. Figured this was a safer bet. I've checked the part numbers and they both come back to the same thing, 3.73 gear ratio, 99-06 suburban/Tahoe/Silverado.

Part number on the axle that's currently in it is 40012681 and has the letters "F 4" on the tube.