New to me 99 Suburban: 5.7 vortec repairs

unabashedpraise

Adventurer
well it's opened and drained, so it's easy to pull it apart and find out. Pull the clips, pull the axles and check those bearings for wear / damage and if none observed dig deeper. It's just a few more bolts...
wouldn't hurt to change all those bearings sets while it is apart. You're already doing 90% of the work anyway.
Cheapest deal would be getting the replacement seals, at least then you can pull it all apart and put it back together with the same bearings, if nothing is visibly wrong with them.
It will be very easy to spot any issue, wear, slop, bluing / heat discoloration. How did the gear oil smell? Burned? Was it the bearing noise that drove you to crack it open in the first place, or did you discover the noise after you had it open? In other words how pronounced was the noise while on the road, if at all?

Yes, I will go ahead and replace all the bearings I can get to. I don't like doing things twice. I'm just not sure if any/all of the gears need replacing.

I opened the rear end due to an unknown scuffing sound.

However, I'm going to have to put everything on hold for a couple months. Had ankle surgery to fix some ligament issues.

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ajmaudio

Adventurer
Did you try engaging your parking brake while rolling to see if the scuffing sound stopped? I had something similar and it was the parking brake shoes.
 

unabashedpraise

Adventurer
Did you try engaging your parking brake while rolling to see if the scuffing sound stopped? I had something similar and it was the parking brake shoes.

Yes. I'll have someone else listen as well for a second opinion. But when I tested everything, I spun the drivetrain and listened at each wheel and the diff. It sounded to me like it came from the diff.


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rayra

Expedition Leader
Fell off the ruins of the damned StFrancis dam in 2003, hiking / farting around with my GSD. Was poking around for a geocaching target, turned out it was down below the ridge (remaining base of the dam) by the road, turned around to retrace my steps and my dog brushed by and knocked me off balance in a stretch of bad footing. Did a Wiley E Coyote dance for a bit, trying to decide if I throw myself on the rusty exposed rebar on the high side, or try to go down the face and before I could make up my mind I jammed a foot in a crack, fell and tore my ankle & fibula apart and bounced down the hill anyway. Had some fun getting myself rescued, got a helicopter ride and some other legal trouble out of it (which I got dismissed with prejudice).

have screws in my other knee from a skiing accident 10yrs before that. Now THAT's my 'good' leg. Had a bad 10yrs in between those bookends, accident-wise. Lot of injuries. Ruptured L4/L5, lacerated my right humerus on a keel formation of my right clavicle, in a water skiing trip; Crushed / pinned my left hand under the front left lower contorl arm of my '73 Firebird while installing new coil springs, when the compressor tool broke while I had my hand in the wrong place. Ground zero Northridge quake, a mistaken felony stop on the hwy in '99 with lots of guns pointed at me by excited deputies, they made the idiot deputy that started it write me a speeding ticket. It's a wonder I don't have full-blown PTSD.
 

KLAKEBRONCO

Adventurer
And again like I said in the beginning find a 9.5” 14 bolt 6 lug axle have that rebuilt, bolt it in and never wonder if the pinion bearings will go to hell again
 

unabashedpraise

Adventurer
And again like I said in the beginning find a 9.5” 14 bolt 6 lug axle have that rebuilt, bolt it in and never wonder if the pinion bearings will go to hell again

I've been actively looking for a while now. These are not very common in my area apparently.


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KLAKEBRONCO

Adventurer
Any 9.5” will work.
You just have to buy replacement 6 lug shafts and 6 lug drums

Converting to disk makes the swap easier and the brakes better so that’s the route I took
 

KLAKEBRONCO

Adventurer
Watch for ads on Facebook marketplace and Craigslist for “parting out”
“Heavy half” and “light duty 3/4 ton” will both have that axle

Don’t buy a 2wd axle though it is about 4” narrower
 

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