Pinion bearings. Bad?

[kitra]

OK, Everyone here was trying to save me money detailing the replacement of the rear differential pinion shaft seal. The instructions were great. Thanks! My Wife took the Mountaineer to the Ford Dealer as a favor so I have one less project to deal with. So I'm $180 poorer. The mechanic that replaced the seal said the differential was 3/4 of a quart low in oil. I've been topping if off every couple of months so was really surprised by his report, especially since I had topped it off last weekend. Nevertheless, he told me the pinions bearings are trashed. He said when he rotated the pinion shaft, it felt very rough and gritty. No noise yet. Is there anything I can do short of replacing the whole rear-end assembly from a junkyard donor? They quoted us $1200 - $1500 to rebuild the rear-end. I also wondered if indeed the bearings were lubrication starved, wouldn't the outer bearing have the most chance of oil starvation since the ring gear would tend to toss oil onto the inner bearing? What I'm asking for is recommendations. If there is a possibility of replacing the outer bearing and race with the differential in place? Or should we drive it and see if it fails? We are planning to drive a 3500+ mile vacation in a couple of weeks and don't want a failure on the road. Thanks again.

 

[mattbreaksthings]

i think im actually in the same boat as you. except mine isnt losing oil its just making horrible whining/grinding sounds at the shaft

 

[gijoecam]

Take it to a reputable transmission shop. They will be able to completely rebuild it for $500 or so. The dealership is going to charge up the arse for something that can easily be found on the outside for a fraction of the cost.

 

[ericautopart]

Correct. Go to a GOOD trans shop. If the shop tells you they can't get the parts..go to another shop. That just means they don't do enough of them to even bother looking where to get them.

 

[kitra]

Transmission Shop better than a junkyark donor?

Just wondering if a transmission shop is better than the junkyard donor route? In the meantime, I'll call around to some shops.