[poncho-mike]

I've got a 78 GMC Suburban that I'm having some rear end noises. The truck is a 3/4 ton 454 model with the 11,000 GVW Trailer towing package. It has a 14-bolt rear end with full floating axles.

I think the pinion bearing is going bad. The Suburban started making some noise maybe six months ago, but it wasn't very loud. Then more recently, there was an occasional light screech, sounding like perhaps a something with a sharp edge rubbingthe driveshaft.

I disconnected the driveshaft and spun the rear wheels. I noted it took more effort to turn the wheels in one direction versus the other. The truck has seeped rear axle grease at the front input for probably the last 20K miles.

Just this weekend, the noise has changed. The noise now is more of a roar, sounding like similar to brake shoes with no liner rubbing on the hubs. The rear linings have less than 10K on new brakes.

Does anyone know how hard it is to replace the front pinion bearing in an older 14-bolt rear? There is a ring of bolts around the casting the pinion shaft is mounted to.

If anybody has any thoughts, please let me know. This old truck has been a great truck for many years, but I'm having doubts about whether I want to spend any more money on it. It's not rusty, but the paint is pretty tired and it still has 250K miles on the original motor.

Thanks for any advice you have.

Mike