If you jack up the axle from the diff. with it in park try turning one tire forward. If the other goes backwards you have an open diff and it is working properly. if you can't move it at all you either have a limited slip diff or it's all bound up. the next thing to do would be put it in nuetral and turn one tire forward. if they both go forward with ease then you have a Limited slip without complications. but if it doesn't turn easily then you need to try and find a new rear end.

 

how much you think it would set me back?

 

you can probably find a good axle in the junk yard for less than a couple hundred. it's better to do that then have a diff repaired (sometimes). It just depends on how bad it is. If you go junk yard, make sure you get the gear set in it that you need. Or you might regret it later. stick with an axle that came out of the same kind of truck as yours. If it's a 2WD witha 318 get an axle out of the same kind of truck, not a 4WD with a 360. gears are much taller on that kind of truck and you might not like the end result as far as gas milage goes, and you would also have to change the speedo gear to reset your speedometer to the right speed.

 

dang.

 

HAHA. Boy, that was a REAL dumb question.

 

um your looking at closer to 1200 for a new used axle from a salvage yard. My dad works in a body shop and was just telling me about one he put in. a couple hundred would be from joe blow on craigslist or something like that.

 

Take it in a have it rebuilt..........I paid 695 to have all new high performance parts and bearings in my rear end along with a 4.56 ring gear.

That is......if its even bad.