It's about to get expensive

[Grumpy old man]

My 95 GMC K2500 has had a hum in the rear and I've been putting it off Thinking I'm not driving anywhere but around town so I'll wait to change them out when I have time , Well this past few days the weather looked good for the week 70's and sunny , So I ordered bearings and seals , and while I had it apart I thought i may as well throw in some new brake shoes and ordered those also . I'm thinking a 1-2 day project .

Then I found this mess , Rusty internals , worn axle splines on both axles , And it seems the 95 GMC K2500 is basically a one year truck with the 9.5/ 14 bolt Gov-Loc 80 posi 6 lug and replacement Yukon axles are about $260.00 each + studs and new C clips / Koyo bearings and seals another $175.00 AC Delco gold brakes another $60.00 wheel cylinders and hardware kits another $60-75.00 And it doesn't end there My michelin tires are showing some small cracks even tho they have plenty of tread left on them .So theres another $1,200.00 and while i'm at it I may as well do the front brakes .

[special-K]

I tell you. It doesn't take much of a list to bust the formula for cost of repair vs value of vehicle these days. Not saying that's the case with yours, but you're getting a taste of it. I don't give up as easy as others, and these days paying more than a vehicle is worth can still be your most economic move. The cost on those axles is just stupid. I guess you figure other same rears will have the same story. Is it a '95-only thing for parts or a 14-bolt SF 6-lug thing?

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by special-K

I don't give up as easy as others, The cost on those axles is just stupid. Is it a '95-only thing for parts or a 14-bolt SF 6-lug thing?

I don't give up , it's cheaper to keeper . it's just a daily driver But I really like this 27 year old truck , What I don't like is the 95 seems to be a a design change year on a few different parts ( HVAC controls) and the rear 14 bolt SF 6 -lug , The bearings and seals I ordered from Summit arrived with the correct part #s on the package the bearing is 1/2" too small ? The originals measure 3" so they go in the return pile . The Yukon axles from Summit are priced at $260.00 each So I started price checking and found them at Drivetime America for $122.00 each same Yukon part and part#'s after checking part #s and digging for actual measurements listed and digging out my calipers to check the old parts to make sure they'll fit at least on paper . Not to mention I destroyed my bearing puller removing the old ones . The axles should be here today and I'm just going to NAPA to see if they have the correct bearings and seals , My 1-2 day easy project has turned into a week from chasing parts . It's a lot easier buying parts for my 67 !

[pjmoreland]

I fear looking inside the rear end of my '89. I will be taking a peek at it soon. I will be surprised if it looks better than yours.

[special-K]

Yeah, that '95 thing can bite ya! I owned one from '97-'04 and never knew a thing about all that because it never had problems in those areas. It was a diesel and 94/95 had their own unprogrammable ECM. Before was mechanical injection and after was programmable with intake and cooling improvements. So not the best year for 6.5TD

[Grumpy old man]

Okey dokey , New axles , Got the studs transfered over still in great condition , waiting on some new hardware that I'll pickup locally . I'm a Summit guy whatever I order is here in 1-2 days but when I saw their price on these axles $260.00 each I thought I'd just do a little price matching and found the exact same axles , brand ,Part number for $122.00 each from Drivetrain America . That's a $280.00 difference for the same parts ! .

[special-K]

That axle price was better than a 2fer. My jaw dropped when I saw $260@. These big guys started off being the cheapest to win us over. They got bigger, so easy to undersell the rest now, even have their own products made. But you still have to watch them. None are cheapest on everything. I'm talking all types of big box.

[Grumpy old man]

Yeah , With the money I saved by price shopping I decided to buy new drums and front disc pads , Next spring I'll replace the front bearings and shafts . Maybe even drop a new crate motor in it . But gas maybe $15.00 a gallon by then .

[vht]

When buying rear end parts, call Quick Performance, axle bearings or anything. Great guy to deal with and he knows his stuff. I've been dealing with him forever, I rebuilt a 10 bolt, 8.5 in a later chevy truck and labor and all was less than they wanted for a used one. I just done a 8.8 that I'm putting in my 57 belair for street and strip use, all his stuff is good quality, no china junk.