suspicous prob w rear differentials

[cocheers]

I had a loud whurring noice coming from the back so i brought my jeep into the dealer to get checked out. They told me i need a full rear differential overhaul - pinions/gears/the works at a smooth $985. Here is why its suspicious -
- It's a 97 wrangler with 67k miles on it
- My front and rear differential fluid was changed at 63k miles
- I brought it to the same dealer about 100 miles ago for new tires and they told me the differential fluid was leaking and they needed to replace the pinion seal. They did that.
- When i asked them why they didn't notice a problem at that time, they said there was no noise then. They can't tell me what happended between then and now, 100 miles later
- Last time i drove it (and prior to the noise beginning), i did notice some fluid under the car but wasn't sure if that was mine or the prior car that had parked there so dismissed it

Any guesses? Is this bum luck for me, or is there reason to be suspicious. I'm not like a lot of you guys - i don't know what the hell i'm doing under that jeep but anything you can give me would be great.

 

[redrooster]

$985 is steep, but they are right on the problem. That sound is the a predicator to a rear end failure.
They may not have taken the cover off to inspect the gear when they changed the seal. It's not necessary to do that. Have you gotten water in the rear end? Take the cover off and look at it if you are curious about the cause.
The best thing for you to do is get it back form the dealership, call the salvage yard and find another rear end with the same gear ratio and pay a local garage to swap it out. You may get lucky and find one in a salvage yard for $300.

 

[redrooster]

$985 is steep, but they are right on the problem. That sound is the a predicator to a rear end failure.
They may not have taken the cover off to inspect the gear when they changed the seal. It's not necessary to do that. Have you gotten water in the rear end? Take the cover off and look at it if you are curious about the cause.
The best thing for you to do is get it back form the dealership, call the salvage yard and find another rear end with the same gear ratio and pay a local garage to swap it out. You may get lucky and find one in a salvage yard for $300.

 

[Snitty]

an entire rear end is a lot easier to swap than a differential overhaul is... if you are even moderately mechanically savy... you can even do it yourself

 

[kevin4x4]

dont do it man the dealership will take so much shxxt. if they know u dont what ur doing .... about like true blond they can smell it. if u dont live to far I can help. have my on shop in d back yard 40 x 50 shop nothing but toys let me know if I can help live in lexington s.c

 

[cocheers]

yeah -i really don't know what I'm doin! Thanks so much for your offer - unfortunatly i'm pretty far off - i live in Boston, MA...

Does anyone know a trusted dealer around here where i might get a second opinion on what went wrong?

 

[avyoung]

Don't go to a dealter. Find other shops and price them. It si also good if you find a good mom and pop shop.

 

[redrooster]

Does it really matter what went wrong? The dealership is not going to pay for it regardless. They will throw every excuse in the book at you. It's sad and unfortunate but that's life. Even if they were at fault you would exhaust more time and effort in resolving the matter or going to court than you would to do as I suggested above. Trust me on this one.

 

[White]

Hey, Johnny is up there. Iam sure he will help you