Need a rear end for 85 S-10 Blazer

My S-10 Blazer is extremely loud and my mechanic wants $750 to replace the
rear end with a junkyard axle package that comes complete ( 1 year
guarantee ).
I don't like the idea of spending all this money on something that I have no
idea how good it is or what it has been through.

He said it is too expensive to repair what I got, even though I would prefer
to just send mine to a shop and just let them repair whats needed.

What are my options for my old 4x4 which is on a tight budget?

In article <fub9fb$8ma$1@reader2.panix . com >, "don" <don@panix . com >
wrote:

> My S-10 Blazer is extremely loud and my mechanic wants $750 to replace the
> rear end with a junkyard axle package that comes complete ( 1 year
> guarantee ).
> I don't like the idea of spending all this money on something that I have no
> idea how good it is or what it has been through.

You get a 1 year guarantee, that tells you how good it is.
The junk yard will usually tell you how many miles were on the donor
vehicle. 10 bolt GM rear axles are usually pretty trouble free for
100,000 miles.

> He said it is too expensive to repair what I got, even though I would prefer
> to just send mine to a shop and just let them repair whats needed.

Is he making excuses for not being trained in the rebuild procedure?
otherwise, it's not his call, it's your call how the money is going to
be spent.

> What are my options for my old 4x4 which is on a tight budget?

Options and budget aren't going to play well together.
You can have it rebuilt probably for $800-$1000 or you can have a used
axle assembly swapped in for whatever the market rate is on that
particular piece.

> Is he making excuses for not being trained in the rebuild procedure?

Well, admittedly, not just everybody who works on cars (which at that,
spans a wide range of training and ability and professionalism, not
specified by the original poster) is good at setting up ring-and-
pinion, or wants the work. (You gotta admit, they're messy and
usually don't *smell* real good.)

> otherwise, it's not his call, it's your call how the money is going to
> be spent.

Righto. Consider talking to a shop that specializes in driveline
matters. Usually a 4x4 club or the rod'n'custom crowd -- or a good
auto parts store catering to such folks -- knows where they are, if
you don't want to go in cold through the Yellow Pages or the web.

As for cost, a specialist shop might find that it doesn't need a
complete overhaul, just a specific repair (though unless it's one low-
miler '85 it probably could *use* a thorough going-over). If you
trust your present mechanic and his taste in junkyard parts, you might
inquire whether the price includes good brakes, etc. Of course,
whether it's a fair price (my hunch is that it's pretty okay as an out
the door total) and whether you want to put that kind of money into
the car are two different issues.

I'm assuming here that you don't have the experience, time, and
logistics capabilities to either obtain and swap out an axle or do a
rebuild yourself with safety and quality. The former especially *is*
heavy work on undercar parts. However, you might want to know
what's involved as you evaluate your options:
* w w w .thirdgen.org/beefinguprear
* w w w .chevyhiperformance . com /techarticles/148_0207_10_bolt_rearend_gear_install/index.html

And just to exercise my sense of the obvious together with my
ignorance of the specifics of your model and year, be sure you're
talking about the same options (limited slip comes to mind) when
comparing prices... and that you've got the same axle ratio on both
ends of your car! ( * w w w .s10forum . com /forum/f13/rear-axle-ratio-
rpo-12655/index4.html) I think you had three choices, being 3.42,
3.73, or 4.11, and using different ones at front and rear could make
engaging 4WD on any but the softest surfaces quite interesting,
briefly!


Best of luck,
--Joe

THanks for those excellent links and info


what's involved as you evaluate your options:
> * w w w .thirdgen.org/beefinguprear
> * w w w .chevyhiperformance . com /techarticles/148_0207_10_bolt_rearend_gear_install/index.html
>
> And just to exercise my sense of the obvious together with my
> ignorance of the specifics of your model and year, be sure you're
> talking about the same options (limited slip comes to mind) when
> comparing prices... and that you've got the same axle ratio on both
> ends of your car! ( * w w w .s10forum . com /forum/f13/rear-axle-ratio-
> rpo-12655/index4.html) I think you had three choices, being 3.42,
> 3.73, or 4.11, and using different ones at front and rear could make
> engaging 4WD on any but the softest surfaces quite interesting,
> briefly!
>
>
> Best of luck,
> --Joe
>

"don" <don@panix . com > wrote in message
news:fub9fb$8ma$1@reader2.panix . com ...
> My S-10 Blazer is extremely loud and my mechanic wants $750 to replace the
> rear end with a junkyard axle package that comes complete ( 1 year
> guarantee ).
> I don't like the idea of spending all this money on something that I have
> no idea how good it is or what it has been through.
>
> He said it is too expensive to repair what I got, even though I would
> prefer to just send mine to a shop and just let them repair whats needed.
>
> What are my options for my old 4x4 which is on a tight budget?
>
>
>
Check this seller in Ebay--sells ONLY s10 used parts. HTH, s
> s10warehouse <