getting ready to take my rear axle assembly in to have built. Wondering about how much this will roughly cost. It's a narrowed Chevy 12 bolt, looking at Richmond 456's, I guess I'll need to buy the axles first. And will pro street gears hold up with minimal street driving? I heard they are softer. And should I weld the axle tubes to housing before taking it in. I dont have a jig to keep it straight and wonder if most shops do that as well.
Bob

I know I should have said rear housing assembly...OOPS

 

weld the tubes, you don't need a jig. you can get prices for parts from catalog. don't run the softer richmonds on the street. labor should be in the 2-3 hour range.

 

After welding the tubes to the center section any good welding/machine shop will rotate the axle in a lathe with a dial indicator to ensure that the housing is still straight.
The machine shop that welded mine did just that. It cost me $70. I do some welding jobs on the side and could have done it, but didn't have the means to check the straightness.