I have a 2000 Durango SLT 4x4 with the 5.9 engine. I recently took the truck to the dealer for the recall and they did a safety check and the tech said he turned the rear wheels and heard a grinding noise. He took the rear diff cover off and said there was a bunch metal pieces in the fluid and said the clutch bearings were broken in the differential and the carrier bearings and assembly and possibly the pinion bearing needs to be replaced. Total estimate was $1250! I bought the truck about 6 months ago and have had no problems and have never heard any noise from the rearend. I have noticed that when making tight turns in a parking lot the wheels will squeal. Maybe due to the limited slip being out? I took it to my local mechanic and he test drove it and said the clutches are not broken but worn and probably should be replaced but may be ok for awhile. He said they are slipping a little.

My question is does this sound right? Are these the symptoms of broken diff clutches? How much should a repair like this really cost and how long could I go without fixing it before it ends up damaging more? Should it be fixed at all? The truck drives fine now, If I try to listen with the windows down I can hear a little grinding on tight turns sometimes but not too bad. The truck only has 60,000 miles on it and it is well taken care of and I do not do any heavy towing or offroading. I'm guessing the diff has been like this since I bought it. Is this normal for a diff to go out on a truck with such low miles? I just want to make sure before I spend the bucks and make sure I am not getting ripped off! Any comments or suggestions from the mechanics on the board would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Yes, it is a common problem. Yes the estimate of 1200ish sounds reasonable. I charged my dad 600 and that was just to cover the cost of the parts, at my cost.

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Denny
I don't check in terribly often, if you need me, e-mail teichera at hotmail dot com