Here’s what we had when rear axle cover was popped open, and the right axle.

Decided to rebuild rear end as these guys didn’t have much work last week and I was able to get new parts relatively cheap and fast.

Timken rear bearing kit w/ ring and pinion and Eaton posi. Richmond axle kit.

Perhaps parts pictured may have cleaned up well, but decided to replace and rebuild the rear.

As always comments or thoughts are appreciated thanks again guys!

 

Smart move. That unit looks like it was underwater with 1971 factory-installed dif grease!

 

X2, bad water contamination

 

^^x2^^...I was hoping someone w/ more knowledge than myself might witness and postulate water intrusion.

EDIT: x3 (Eric beat me to the punch - again)

 

Also chunks on the bottom of the case.

 

Yup. Water is a funny thing.. humans can go three weeks without food, but not more than three or four days without water.

And for most mechanical devices and moving metal parts - oil and water don’t mix.

So how does water intrusion happen in a rear end, submerged in a puddle for a week or three? I’ve lost two homes to flooding, but was smart enough to move my cars.

 

Those are not chunks, they are the axle retainer clips found in Chevy rear ends.

 

Driving through deep water. That was a VERY common occurrence when I lived on the Gulf Coast. It could rain so much during the daily thunderstorms that the streets would be over the curbs, and intersections with dips could put water half way up the doors.

 

Ken from one extreme to the other wet/humid...to hot n dry. Ill take hot n dry, please.

Any of the 3 seals 1 gasket and the vapor vent can fail and let water in. Or stupidity can be the root cause as well....

My F250 went in at 30K for a warranty pinion seal. At 80K I pulled the diff cover as part of a troubleshooting quest to find a driveline vib. The dummies (thinking stronger words here ) not only didn't torque the pinion crush sleeve correctly they missed a spot of silicone on the top of the cover(no gasket on the Sterling rears). Water simply intruded and gravity did the rest.

 

Yeah, I went from the swamp to the desert. They both have particular ups and downs. Depends upon the situation as to which one is preferred over the other. The Gulf Coast never had a month of 110+ temperatures.