This rear end is not original to this truck. I was told it came off of a '68 Buick Wildcat, but the brake cylinders I replaced fit a '72 Buick Electra, because shopping for Wildcat parts didn't work. My guess is this rear wasn't original to that old Buick either. I've got an oil seal leak on the driver's side, and some noise from the differential. There is a little play in it when I turn it. I'm not sure what to do about it at this point, but my mission today was to replace the oil seal. I expected to find a C clip holding the axle in. There wasn't one, nor was there a slot on the axle shaft to receive one, which makes me wonder if I have the right seal (maybe I'm shopping for the wrong parts again). The axle just slid right out - it seems I didn't have to drain the fluid and remove the cover, if the only purpose was to remove a clip that wasn't there. What wasn't supposed to slide out with it was the seal and bearing.
The bearing looks like the ones in front, and different than the one I got for a GM 10 bolt rear end from the 70's. I think maybe someone got parts for a '91 C1500 and somehow made them work. It looks like the seal was backwards. It also looks like somebody pounded a race in on top of another race - I can't get a good pic of what I'm seeing - here's a couple of angles:
I don't have the tools to get that stuff off of my axle. All I could do was glob some grease on it and put it back together the way it was. Any advice is welcome.
š