00 s10 rear axle

my 00 s10 has a loud howling noise comin from the rear axle and i checked it and the pinoin gear seems to be little loose but not loose enough to make the seals leak yet and my guess that it will need new ring and pinoin gears cuz they sound like they are grinding and some bearings also but would it be cheaper to buy a used axle from a junk yard and put it on my self or take it to get repaired at a shop rear end has 4:10 ratio any info would really be great thanx ya

Yes it would less with less down time. The shops around here wanted $1000.00 to rebuild the rear in my truck. I found a low mileage posi for $150. at a bone yard and swaped it myself. took about 2 hours and I was back on the road. Before I put it in I chaged the gear oil and put a Summit cover on, painted it up and when I was done it looked hot to. Also it a good time to change your rear shocks if you need to.