My rear end is going south -- Help

[SPR]

There is a rhythmic whoom whoom whoom sound coming from the rear end of my S10 blazer when I accelerate under a load at highway speeds. I suspect that the rear axle (80k miles) is starting to show a problem. Does anyone have advice on what to do to diagnose the problem?

TIA

[White trash]

Good old fashioned 10 bolt... Diagnosis is easy, pull the cover and see if the gears are worn badly. If they are just go to PAW and get another axle.

[SPR]

After pulling off this diff cover, Can anyone tell me what should I be looking for to determine if the gears or bearings are going bad? -- It is just starting to make noise.

[Don]

Have you checked your u-joints? That would be my first suspect.