My local guy who I trust said the rear diff is shot. He said because you will never know what you are going to find when you open it up that it would be best to find a used diff from a local junk yard since they are pretty cheap.
What would you guys do? What about replacing it with an electronic locking rear diff?
If you trust your mechanic... tell him to get off his butt and pop the diff cover and see what is really going on. He will either be right or he will be wrong. If he is right, then he is worthy of your trust. If he is wrong.... time to find a trustworthy mechanic.Take 15 minutes and pull the rear cover and see if you see anything obvious. Turn the wheels off the ground and see if the axle bearings make any noise.