Rusted Diff cover

All,

I just purchased a 99 Silverado 4.8 LS with G80 rear. In going over the truck it seemed to be in good shape with few exceptions.

1. One thing I just noticed is the rear diff cover is weeping fluid. It looks padly rusted and pitted, so I think it's time to replace (also a good time to examine the insides). Anyboady have a suggestion for a quality replacement? I don't want to use OEM.

2. The water pump is leaking. If I replace this myself, what gotchas am I going to run into?


thanks!

John

My diff cover was terrible when I opened it up to pull out pieces of my shattered clutch pack, I used a die grinder with a scotchbrite pad and got it shiney and smoothe. I was short on time, so I told myself I'd paint it the next day... that was 6 months ago. It's rust color again now.

The water pump on mine wasn't hard at all (but it's an 86, a lot has changed since then. Took maybe 4 hours with a couple breaks included. You will have to remove the serpentine belt, and possibly some belt driven accessories/brackets. Depending on how many miles are on it, this would also be the time to replace the timing chain.

OEM only way to go unless you want it to keep leaking