Hey guys,
I need to pick your brains...
My oldest son has a 1990 Caprice Classic. He took it to a shop because his rear end was leaking dope pretty bad, so he told me. He lives 4 hours from me so I was hoping that it was a gasket or a seal. He just called me and said that the shop told him that his right rear axle bearing had gone out and he needed an axle as well. He's on his way to go pick it up.
Wouldn't you guys suggest to replace the whole rear end with a used one?
If so, do you guys know what will bolt right up with no problems?

 

You need a axle saver bearing. They cost $30-40 at the parts store and what it does is to move the wear surface of the bearing out to a unworn surface on the axle. I've used thm a bunch of times, biggest hassle is to get the old axle bearing out...use a slide hammer or pop all of the rollers out and run a bead of weld around the inside of the race when it cools it will pop right out. The BCA bearing part number is RP5707 as long as it isn't a wagon. Don't worry if the axle has a groove, it'll work trust me, and save yourself 2-300 bucks for a new rear end.

Dave

 

i hope the above sugg. works. Our family has had 4 caprice/ oldsmobile wagons 90-94 and they all had rear bearing problems. Seems they fail about 120,000+ miles. We just bought another rear and swapped it in and hope for another 120,000!!

 

I guarantee it...I have had one in my Chevelle SS for years. Also have put them in S-10 Blazers, Monte Carlo anything with C clip axles. No need for another rear end unless you break something. PM or e-mail me if you need any more info.
PARTS LIST
3 qts 80w90
1 RP5707 axle saver bearing
brake shoes and springs
Tools to remove rear diff cover., c clips, brakes
Depending on how long it takes to remove the old bearing it should only take a couple of hours, also the axle saver has a new seal built in to it.

Dave