Shop Wants To Replace Differential Assembly

ScottyD

ScottyD

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I have a 2000 Wrangler Sport, 142,000 miles... Dana 44 rear... About three years ago, I replaced my passenger rear axle seal / bearing... well recently I saw it was leaking again... the pain of it myself was that I don't have a press, so I had to drive 50 miles each way (twice, longer story) to finally fix it last time.
This time I figured I would let the shop do it since I don't have a press.

Scheduled appointment and dropped it off Thursday morning. $450 to replace the axle seal. Friday evening they called saying there was damage to the differential and they would write up an estimate Monday.

Go the estimate today... going to replace my stock Dana 44 3.73 gears with a Jaspar rebuilt rear end - $3275 plus tax ($3600 plus). Also they want $695 for rear brakes, and another $635 if they need to replace the brake plate.

They sent me this video... honestly, I don't know what it's showing, how bad it is. They said the spider gears are chipped, metal fell out of the pumpkin cover when they opened it, and there were metal shavings all over it.

Differential

I have three times replaced the differential fluid, and have a felpro gasket on there. I asked why they would pull the diff cover to fix an axle seal, that didn't need to be done... they said it was the mechanic's decision to do that.

I would appreciate any advice.... and any alternatives for me to consider.... thanks in advance
 
Assuming the ring and pinion are ok, replacing the spider gears is not really a big deal. A good shop should charge you less than a grand to do it.
 
IF the chips from the spider gears didn't affect the carrier bearings; then replacing the spider gears is a simple fix....
Inspect the carrier bearings, spray out the differential with brake cleaner and replace the spider gears...
 
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Run it. It works right?

Question - did they actually replace the seal first and then tell you it needs an entire new axle?
 
ScottyD said:
I have a 2000 Wrangler Sport, 142,000 miles... Dana 44 rear... About three years ago, I replaced my passenger rear axle seal / bearing... well recently I saw it was leaking again... the pain of it myself was that I don't have a press, so I had to drive 50 miles each way (twice, longer story) to finally fix it last time.
This time I figured I would let the shop do it since I don't have a press.

Scheduled appointment and dropped it off Thursday morning. $450 to replace the axle seal. Friday evening they called saying there was damage to the differential and they would write up an estimate Monday.

Go the estimate today... going to replace my stock Dana 44 3.73 gears with a Jaspar rebuilt rear end - $3275 plus tax ($3600 plus). Also they want $695 for rear brakes, and another $635 if they need to replace the brake plate.

They sent me this video... honestly, I don't know what it's showing, how bad it is. They said the spider gears are chipped, metal fell out of the pumpkin cover when they opened it, and there were metal shavings all over it.

Differential

I have three times replaced the differential fluid, and have a felpro gasket on there. I asked why they would pull the diff cover to fix an axle seal, that didn't need to be done... they said it was the mechanic's decision to do that.

I would appreciate any advice.... and any alternatives for me to consider.... thanks in advance
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Spider gears are easy to replace. Also some axles come fully assembled. G2 I think do, I also found these.The spider gears look to be damaged. I would rotate the ring and pinion to check for tooth damage. Clean the diff out. Then replace spider gears. Here is a kit.
https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-1710750-dana-44-spider-gear-kit.html
https://www.ironrockoffroad.com/pro...ar-axle-shaft-pair-jeep-tj-yj-xj-dana-44.html
 
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They give ya any of this along with their price tag?
vaseline.jpg
 
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Unfortunately I think we will all start to see more of this in the future. They can hire cheaper and lesser skilled help if they replace assemblies instead of components. The dealerships have been doing it for a while already.
 
You have two issues. First is your differential is indeed bad and ideally you need a new loaded carrier, ring and pinion and bearings. Second is that shop is absolutely overpriced and you need to find a different one.
 
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Blackjack said:
You have two issues. First is your differential is indeed bad and ideally you need a new loaded carrier, ring and pinion and bearings. Second is that shop is absolutely overpriced and you need to find a different one.
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What could you tell from that video that the diff is bad?
 
Your video is low resolution on my phone. But even with that, the rocking back and forth is normal backlash. If your spider gears are pitted or damaged, then replace those. Very easy job. Since this just "happened" to be found by the mechanic I highly doubt the issue is much more than spider gears. Pull the spiders and then spray the housing out really well with brakleen. Throw it back together and run it. Take pics of you can and post up here to give us a better look. Even IF your axle is toast, those guys are trying to screw you hard.
 
Who in their right mind would replace an entire axle assembly after just doing some damage to the diff….





Oh, wait. Nevermind…..

😊
 
hosejockey61 said:
What could you tell from that video that the diff is bad?
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Well that looks like a Trakloc with bad spiders so by the time you buy spiders and clutches you can get a new carrier. With the amount of metal missing off those spiders that has run through it you should replace the bearings but that also means there is a good chance the ring and pinion will be noisy.
 
God is telling you to buy a press, re-gear, refurbish (clutches as well if applicable), and get stronger axles. It is not wise to ignore a powerful deity. Do you have a friend that can help? You can buy all the parts, tools, and upgrades for less and have the tools left over for years of joy.
 
I personally could not tell anything being bad by the video. It was too low resolution for me to see chipped teeth. The diff seemed to be operating normally. Not saying there's nothing wrong, but you drove it there perfectly fine and the video doesn't show me anything abnormal.

Please do not spend $3600-4800 on a new rear axle with these clowns and certainly not those prices for brake plates. Seriously?? The brakes cost like $100 in parts and can be serviced in less than an hour easy. It's already bad enough you paid $450 for an axle seal. Worst case even if the spider gears are bad, that's a cheap and easy fix assuming they didn't cause other damage, which it sure seems they did not. These guys are straight up trying to screw you, I really hope you don't pursue more work from them than the one axle seal.
 
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bromel said:
Assuming the ring and pinion are ok, replacing the spider gears is not really a big deal. A good shop should charge you less than a grand to do it.
Click to expand...
If you don’t mind… what kind of shop should i look for? Like a transmission place?
 
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