Inspecting "Hoopers Rear Ends" Poor Work - Astro Van Rear Differential 

Michael to check for metal you need to take the oil pan out into the sun to look for shining metal fragments or with a bright light looking into the oil is the best way to check it. The gears may look good but there can be some very little metal fragments in the oil. I have had that happen to me over the years working on cars and trucks. Take care Bud.

Yikers! 😅 Looks like they hooped it alright! Lucky you have rear discs, LR caliper looking out! If it was a drum brake van you may have got quite the surprise on a hard left turn banging through L.A. traffic 😆

I was amazed at how much play there was in the tires. Also, the amount of metal shavings on the plug was shocking. I hope this guy Ken can take care of the problems.

Wow, my son and I do all our own differential work so we don't have to worry about shabby work. Sorry for your having to deal with incompetence. We mostly have Jeep differentials and air lockers that way it's a positive locker, either in or out, this eliminates the clutches and other automatic components. Also we use the Spartan lunch box lockers up front. Also we all have winches so if we do get stuck we can pull ourselves out. And above all, slow and easy, nothing in a panic as to break things miles away from civilization. ARB makes an excellent air locker.

The only thing holding the axle from coming out is the disc brake caliber

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that c-clip groove shouldn't be visible with the center pin still in place 🤔. Either way, bummer your dealing with this!!

Good Vibes Mike. Can’t wait to see the next vid. It’s hard to find a good mechanic in L.A., you take your chances. Love the content.

Yikes! Thanks for the share

Looks like the only thing that save your bacon from losing a wheel and axle was the disc brake keeping it in. Wow.

if you need axels , Summit racing has a good price , something looks wrong there with the center pin removed you should be able to put on the c clips then the center pin holds the c clips in place ,you may be missing a shim or something I'm not sure what kind of posi you have .good luck.

Yeah it's a C clip rear end. You pull the spider gears and shaft out and push the axle all the way in and slip the c clip out. Then you can remove the axle. So that being said there may be excess wear on the end of the axles allowing the axle to move in and out. A small amount of end play is normal. Also the axle bearing rides directly on the axle and you can experience wear and pitting there.

Good luck on the next shop man, you’d think the free PR from a job well done for you might be an an incentive to keep the work top notch. On the other hand a good shop should do it right even for a little old lady from pasadena . Hey man sitting under your astro isn’t that bad of a day , because ….you have an astro! I’m just sitting. 😂

The white vans seem like they don’t fall apart as fast.

I Would FREAK OUT If My 1999 Astro Van Rear Wheels Pulled Out Anything At All. I Found Those Monroe Coil Over Shocks At LKQ Junk Yard Here in Florida Look Like Brand New 6.00 Each I Was Vey Happy 120,00 A Pr Online

Thanks For The Video! I Am Replacing My Rear Diff Cover Because Of Rust, It's The Only thing With Rust and Not Worth Taking The Original Off And Cleaning It Up/Painting It Etc. Seen All The Available Covers And Crazy Prices. Then I See on eBay The OEM Covers, NIB All Rusted Just Sitting In A Box For 20+ Years. No Drain Plug In The Original So Looks Like It's Going To Be A Mess. These Vans Get A Wherr After Around 100-150K Miles, Not All Of Them But Half, I Am Looking To Replace The Diff Oil With Something Better Than GM Used To Avoid This Common Wherr. Ya That Magnet Looked Scary To Me! It Was Nice To See What I Will Be Looking At When I Open My Diff Cover In a 1995 But With Only 60K Miles I Better Not See Metal and It Is Super Quiet! I Might Use Motul Diff 75-90 And Some TUFOIL Maybe 4oz. Hoping I Will Never Get The Wherr Problem Because Nobody Can Fix It/Rebuild It Without Destroying It and Finding A Rear With The Right Gear Ratio Without The Wheer Seems Impossible! I Have Owed Other Astros And Had 400K mile's That Never Got The Wheer But I Think Its More Common On The AWD For Some Reason But Again Not All Of Them. It Looks Like That 1/2" Of Play Might Just Be From The Missing C Clip Allowing It To Move So You Might Have Dodged A Bullet For Sure? Again Thanks For Making These Video's

Steel pass probably tortured your c-clips. Maybe look into a c-clip eliminater kit. The pros will know. Awaiting the next vid!

Ok, you are missing a square block that the carrier center pin slides through. This keeps the axels where thier supposed to be and keeps the c clips secured. Also contact "Dutchman Axels" and get new axles made. They make them for Rock climbers. I did it and it cost me $600 for the pair delivered. You think it's pricey? You'll never by another pair of axels.

Typically the the pin keeps the axles pushed out into the side gears keeping the c clips in. Something's wrong or missing

both sides slop at the hub bearings wow thats bad. surely so dangerous to drive. my guess is the wrong wheel bearings were pressed onto the half shafts

WOW is that undercarriage clean Mike!!🫨….I guess one of the perks of living in SoCal!👍….Would NEVER find them looking like that where they use calcium or magnesium chloride to treat the roads as it’s incredibly corrosive,namely for vehicles.Really enjoy the content of your Vids so keep ‘em coming Mike!👍😎

May I suggest a C clip eliminator kit . Axles have been known to walk out when the C clip breaks or falls out .

Dude you see that gray oil that means you got metal in there that thing's been grinding stick a magnet in the oil

I have been following you for some time on your Astro adventures. I have 40 + years of experience with off roading, fabrication, and building 4x4s. I felt compelled to add my 2 cents to this situation. It's tough to diagnose from a vide., however, either the posi is not correct for your Astro, or a part was left out of the installation. The "C" clips, (not clamps), just drop into the slots at the ends of the axles and are prevented from falling out by another part. What is preventing your axles from sliding out are the bearings at the axle ends. Beyond that the brake assembly will try to prevent the axles from coming out. Ask me how I know.

You should use some tracking paint on ring and pinion make sure that it is shimed proper

That was an awful lot of metal shavings on your plug magnet for a new ring and pinion and posi. I really think you need to find the source of the metal shavings, which probably means removing the differential from the pumpkin for inspection. It's too bad Hooper's has gone downhill. They used to be good. I had them install an R&P and Limited Slip in my Datsun diff in the early '90s and I ran it hard for years without issue. I took it back to them last year to have it checked out as it was getting noisy, and they wouldn't touch it. Don't do Datsun/Nissan stuff anymore. Takes too much time away from their Ford and Chevy bread and butter work. There's another rear end shop out in Sun Valley called Ramjet. Don't be tempted. They totally botched my diff rebuild, but that's another story. I've had Serge do a couple of driveshafts for me- good guy! Hope you get to the bottom of your axle/diff issues without too much more grief! Good luck!

Addendum, 1\4 " end play normal so that's probably the drivers side

The c clip is recessed into the side gear so can't imagine it just falling out but who knows.

Looks good on camera. Maybe a little light on the contact patch hard to tell without Persian blue ring gear paint .

You need to get a head lamp you know a light you were around your head. Keep your hands free. Hope it all goes well

Guessing you lost the c-lock rockclimbing, that's probably your house as well , axle may be bottoming on the cross b!com on turns or kicking it left and right, just a thought 😎

You're lucky the axle didn't fall out.... if you decide to completely rebuild it yourself, don't use a crush sleeve on the input side - use shims. Mucho easier to get the gears to mesh correctly & it will handle more HP. Good luck (labor under correct knowlege) 👍

If it chirps and varies when you turn left or right it is most likely your outer bearings ...if it howls when accelerate or decelerate its in the pumpkin

I'm sure ate up you axels and ring and pinion. How many miles on the rear end ?

Bro , get an adapter for your DeWalt 2o v impact . Man rear oils has a rude odor lol . Chrome moly is for 700 hp . Xou can still upgrade without going full overkill . You shouldnt drive that without putting that C clip back on .

They forgot the shims? That is definitely no bueno!

I'm not an expert, but from what I have seen from other differential rebuilds it looks like they did not put the correct amount of axle shims in. From what I understand they keep the axles in the right place. And the C-clips in-place . As for the chromoly axles unless your engine has a lot more horsepower than stock you don't need them. In other words chromoly axles are for high horsepower applications. Like if you had 100 horsepower over stock. Your OEM axles should be fine or if you have to replace them I would stay with OEM. OK if cost is the same then go with chromoly axles.

just a thought,is it possible the put the Ax on the wrong side..as that drivers side may be the passenger side and vis versa..don't know about that model..but many have different length ax's possible passenger side slightly longer..

Here's an oddball comment/question that is of no help to your issue but, your hat is cool, what kind is it and where did you get it? LOL😊

Looks like some worn out c clips or carrier that could use a rebuild....

How do you like the project launch diff cover? Any difference from stock besides a drain plug? Looking to rebuild my rear end now and my current cover is pretty crusty. I have a 2005 astro awd

That rear end is a little wimpy for 33s. Might want to upgrade to an 8 1/2 or better yet a 12 bolt or a Dana

Shims c- clip eliminator's!

Your axel bearing may just need to be tightened... at a guess... I was wrong... you have issues for sure. I hope it goes good.

That van and the rear end is probably one of the cheapest light-duty pieces of equipment that Chevrolet has ever produced, if you expect to get real results from your Chevy Astro van van life you should upgrade all of the suspension to something that's a little more preferably for 4-wheel drive use.

Seemed low on oil

As much trouble as putting the wrong unit in a rear end can give, putting a unit in the wrong rear end can be much worse. 😂. Seriously, I'm glad it's apparently nothing too major, but paying a "professional" to do a job that isn't done right is a terrible thing. Especially if the work they did causes more issues. Seems to be an increasingly common thing. Hopefully new axles will take care if it and the whole shooting match will be new.

G.M axles are touriously weAK I THINK THEY USE COW SHIT AND DIRT As an additive when they cast the Steel.

Mike Gluou got your 300 rider dies bro no problemp