Cancelled travel and more truck problems

 October 2025

We had a road trip planned for this month. We were going to a three day Bluegrass Festival in Manteo North Carolina but we cancelled because weather. There is a Nor’easter forecast to hit the Outer Banks at the same time as the festival. The event is held outdoors with no overhead shelter, and it just didn’t seem like a good idea to go that distance for a show that would probably be cancelled. 

Too cold for me!


It’s a good thing we cancelled, the campground we were scheduled to stay at was cut off when the ocean cut off a low-lying section of highway. We would either not be able to get to it or if we had we would have been trapped on the barrier island. 

washed out roads


November 2025

We had no travel planned this month but we did have a visitor. RaeAnne flew in to spend time with her mother, We enjoyed her company for a week.

Millie and Rae Anne


Truck problems again! In 2024 we had the bearings in the differential replaced in Los Alamos. Thirty thousand miles later it started making noise again. It was the same distinctive bearing failure noise we had last year. 

After only 30 thousand miles I have another bearing failure


I took the truck to a local repair shop here in Myrtle Beach and it was obvious they didn’t want to follow up on someone else's work. In retrospect, I can see why, they didn't know anything about the previous repair other than it only lasted 30 thousand miles. They suggested I get a whole new rear axle.

Axle I sent back 


They recommended a new axle assembly for $6000, or a remanufactured one for around $4000. They were not keen at all about a junk yard part which was more my budget at about $1200. I did some research and found I could buy a junk yard axle online and each one listed its milage. They also have a limited warranty and a 30 day no questions return policy. I decided to purchase an axle that they listed as having 67,000 miles for $1000. I also decided that I would be swapping out the whole axle assembly myself. There was no precision differential work, just nuts and bolts to change the axle. 

This didn’t work out, the used axle I bought which supposedly only had 67 thousand miles was an out and out lie.. When it arrived, I took one look at it and sent it back, it was junk and everyone involved knew it, my money was refunded in full. 

I decided to do a rebuild on my original axle. I had most of the special tools and precision measuring instruments I needed, even a 20-ton press for the bearings.  It wasn't anything I couldn't do, I just hadn't done this kind of work in a long time and was more than willing to leave it to the experts. 

I have a saying, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, so cleared out a workspace in the garage and went to work. I replaced all the internal parts, bearings, races, ring and pinion gear, and bearing carrier. I even replaced the axle bearings for good measure, although that would come back to haunt me. That’s a story for the 2026 blog. 

Stripped and ready to reassemble

No longer a nuts and bolts job, precision measuring required



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