Diagnosing bent axle shafts vs the housing?

[Hmbre97]

I know I am probably going to get hammered for being a dumbass on this one but it is what it is.

I used my half ton Silverado a while back to pick up a yard of limestone gravel. I knew I would be exceeding the payload by a bit but didn't feel like making multiple trips. I get home and just as I'm starting to offload, I slipped and f'ed up my knee. While I rehab'ed my knee, my truck sat in the driveway for a couple of months with all that gravel in the bed. Once I finally got it unloaded, I took it for a spin and had a bad shutter in the brakes.

Well, I finally got around to messing with it tonight so I put the rear up in the air and stuck it in 3rd gear. As suspected, both sides have a slight wobble. Since the brakes are dragging when it wobbles, my gut tells me it's just the shafts.

Should I even bother trying to replace the shafts or should I just try to find another complete rear end?

[Buick355]

Axles aren't all that expensive, try FTW gear and axle. Probably cheaper than a used rear end. Sounds like you diagnosed correctly. Not sure if your rear brakes are disc or drum, but either way, if your wheels have run-out then either they are bent, or you axles are bent, since warped rotors wouldn't cause this. If you want to be sure pull the rear wheels and watch the hub flange while it's in drive. Might as well replace the axle bearings while you're at it.

[VaderTT]

I've seen complete 6 lug rears, with a g80 locker online for $200.

[Hmbre97]

Source? Most rears I've found have started at around $400-up for open diff rear ends. I've often thought of yanking out the 4.3 in favor of a V8 so maybe getting a posi rear would help.