hiya from illinois

[hausdok]

Hey, this was a pain to get in but I made it. I have 2 awd astros, love em both. My 98 just broke a front diff and I need help finding parts to fix it. Need bearing and seal for left front. Any help mail me at hausdok@gmail.com, Thanks, Mike

[astroturf]

Welcome aboard. You might check http://www.rockauto.com Hope this helps. Jim

[ihatemybike]

How broke? I've lunched the front diff on two different vans, both due to bad axle seals.

My first was my 2000, I didn't notice the axle leak. I found a replacement at a local JY and had a shop install it adding new seals. IIRC, it cost me about $1200, but it was cold and I needed the van on the road again quickly. The second was Grumpy, I didn't act on the leak fast enough. For this one I spent $225 and bought a ruined van for parts and replaced the diff myself. Checking prices on www.car-part.com, thus far I've pulled over $950 worth off the van and still have a lot left to remove to use or sell.

[hausdok]

Hiya, thanks for posting back and the welcome guys! This one munched the seal for sure but not gears like my 91. I fixed that one with a diff out of a blazer. The 98 broke the seal for sure not sure about the bearing yet. Found one in St Louis for 150. This time I'm gonna rebuild the old one for next time it eats.

[LiftedAWDAstro]

Welcome! Yeah, hit up the wreckers and swap it yourself. Be sure to check gear ratios.

[hausdok]

any info anyone on years swappable? some list on ebay says only 97-98 will work on a 09. i know the 91 won't cause it has 5 bolt ends.

[LiftedAWDAstro]

97 was the first year with the new slip-in style of CV shafts. There is no reason why a 99 - 02 or even 05 wouldn't fit. When we swapped dunedog's 99 front diff out for a gear change we swapped in my old 98 front diff and it was the same. The only reason I can see the books stating 99 - 02 are different is that the AWD transfer case was changed in 1999.