2007 Tahoe Rear axle pinion/carrier bearing failure

[okfoz]

I have a 2007 Tahoe with 148,000 miles on it, 3.73 gears. A few months back I started hearing what sounded like a broken belt on a tire coming from the rear of the car. I posted about it here. I continued to run with the tires, as they were still smooth, but they were approaching 70,000 miles anyway, I was hoping to make it through the winter but they were too bald.

Last week I ended up getting new tires (Bridgestones I like them a lot) and the noise was still there. I took it back to the tire place and told them about the situation as they do more than just tires. He took it for a drive and then told me that it sounds like the rear axle bearing, either pinion or the Carrier bearing. Unfortunately they did not fix them there as they did not have the tools. He said it was common on the 2007-2014 Full sized trucks which surprises me because in all the years of owning cars this is the first time I have ever had a pinion or carrier bearing go out.

My first axle guy wanted $700 to do the bearings, and another $250 for the gears, but he did not take credit cards, and the extended warranty company uses credit cards to pay for the repairs. Went to different trans guy and I found out that the pinion bearing and one of the carrier bearings were shot. It is going to be $1,220 for the rebuild (fortunately I got the extended warranty when I purchased the truck so I am going to be out only $117.00)

Anyone else have issues with the pinion and carrier bearings go out on them. I follow the GM recommended schedule for replacing fluids to a tee.

John

 

[Doubeleive]

I had to do the pinion on my 2000 but that was when she was close to 300k and I was getting some vibration in the rear end also had to do the u-joints around the same time

 

[RED TAHOE LS]

John, I too had the same problem only different cause. At 181k miles I had taken my Tahoe to the tire shop for rotate/balance my tires. The shop called to tell me the pinion seal was leaking and needed to be replaced, so I told him to go ahead. When I picked up my vehicle all was fine for a while until I started hearing some noise from the rear end and I too suspected a shifted belt in one of the rear tired, but that just don't happen with Michelin tires.
I immediately knew what happened, they tightened the pinion nut too tight. You see there is a crush sleeve that separated the two pinion bearings and it MUST be replaced each time you take the pinion nut off for any reason. Just another example of someone not knowing that it's more involved than just replacing the pinion seal.
Fast forward too last week, now the mileage just flipped 200k and I had had enough of the noise, so I took it to my local mechanic (40+yr business ) and they replaced the pinion/carrier/axle bearings and seals with fresh fluid in my G80 3:73 posi-traction for just over $700.00. Now I'm a happy man again with my super slick/quite ride 99 Tahoe, my only regret is that I couldn't have done it my self @ 76 years old. There was a time I could do just about anything to a vehicle, and it really eats on me that these butthole so called mechanics @ these quick service centers don't know which end is up. Thanks for listening and make sure you get a reputable shop to do it even if it cost a little more. Good luck to you.
David g.....................

 

[dreww2001]

The pinion in mine exploded if i remember correctly, had to get it all rebuilt i think it was around 2k for the rebuild. it was a a really loud whine and when it got bad when you would shift into reverse it would jolt and the car would clunk.