Hey all, I'm pretty sure my rear pinion bearing is bad so i have a few questions.

1. I called a local shop and the guy there had told me that if I need to replace the pinion bearing I probably need to replace the whole pinion. He then said that a rebuilt rear end would usually cost $1200 just to give me a heads up. Im not buyin' it, folks. He said he would do some research and call me back, as he hasnt worked on a car rear end this old in years. Does this sound right?

2. Also, if I was going to to this job myself where could I find the necessary parts? I've looked on ebay and come up empty handed. I have pulled out and installed the rear end in my car before, so no trouble there, but I have not pressed in or out a new pinion bearing.

Questions? Comments? Anything helps

Ok so the guy just called me back. He confirmed that it would be about 1200 bucks worse case scenario. He said that usually what happens when a bearing goes out is that it sends debris through all the other bearings a causes them to go out. He also said he would need to special order the parts.

I'm either going to spend a few hundred on this or not fix it and hope I don't die.

Have you tried to source another center from somewhere? Sure u could buy one from o/s and ship it for only a few $$$

I have no idea what you just said.

it seems like it would be a hell of a lot easier to just buy a new rear end. The problem is, I replaced the original one 4 years ago and its already going out. I paid $176 at the time. I was living in Phoenix and that was the only parts car I could find. Now I'm in indiana and its even hearder to find stuff like this. And even if I do find it, it's usually attached to a car.

Does THIS seem worth buying?

No, it is not worth it to rebuild. Much better to buy a GOOD used "3rd-member" unit, as experience has suggested. For everyone that got a "bad" used unit, there are 3 guys that had rebuilds go awry.

There is a 210 listed at Pick-n-Pull in Hammond, Indiana today. 3rd-member is $96 and has a 7-day warranty. Put it in and if it doesn't work exactly right return it.

Replacing the 3rd-member is fast and easy. You don't have to disassemble the bearings or gears, so there is little chance of anything going wrong with the process.

wow DD thanks for looking that up for me, I really appreciate it. Ill call em now.
Also, what exactly is a 3rd member? Is there another term for it? I'm not sure how to remove it. I do have a Haynes manual, not sure if it's listed in there.

P.S = how did you figure out they had a 3rd member? I looked on their website and i see the '82 210 in inventory, but when I called the guy couldnt confirm what parts were on it.

Pick-n-Pull is a self-serve wrecking yard, you have to go out and look and remove your own parts. They are the largest in USA, I buy most of my parts there.


The 3rd-member is the drop-out unit (carrier with Ring & Pinion installed). It looks like this, although you don't want to buy a rusty one:

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for a 1981-1982, the engine compartment ID plate will tell you the ratio of the differential:

H150 came in:
3.545
3.700
3.889

3.545 is best for fuel-economy. 3.889 is best for performance. Remember to adjust your speedometer if changing ratios or tire diameter.

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