all-trac diff rebuild DIY?

[antonmn]

I've got an 88 Camry AllTrac that I bought with 197k. Just after buying it, I noticed a nasty noise coming from the rear end. I jacked the car up and listened to the drivetrain while the engine idled in 3rd gear. This produced chrunchy noises coming from what seems to be the front of the rear diff. The noise is far worse on hard acceleration, so I removed the rear 1/3 of the driveshaft and drive with the electo-mechanic diff lock on to avoid further strain.

My question is: (a) is it worth trying to rebuild this unit? (b) where can I find a used unit? (c) is rebuilding a good idea for the shady-treer?

I'd really prefer to have the all-trac system working again - the car drives FAR better with it (no tourqe steer, more balanced braking), but I don't want to go too far out for a 16-year old 200k rusty car.

Thoughts?

[alltrac165]

First, go buy the BGB(toyota factory manual). It is pretty clear that you should NOT drive the car with the tranny switch in any position other than normal AWD mode. The other two positions are for dyno/brake machine testing only and can cause damage to the tranny if driven that way.
Second, diffs are not that difficult to work on. Only a few moving parts in there. You could check with some JDM importers and see if they can get you one which would save you some trouble, but if you wanna rebuild, just follow the directions in the BGB and it's pretty simple. You may need access to a press or something to get bushings or gears in and out. I haven't looked at our car specifically. I'll check my book when I get to work today and see if it's the same as any other rear diff.
Also, check out www.alltrac.net for support about your car specifically. I hang out there under username "dogbite".