Why rear end quit working

did you have the rear wheels off or one of the rear wheels off to do something?...sounds like one of the square keys that drive the wheels is missing. I did it myself once.pulled and wheel and forgot to put it back in. same response. check both rear wheels to make sure the key in still in both slots of the wheel. its a 2 or 3 inch piece of 1/4 x 1/4 inch square stock. if you lost it you can buy square stock 1/4 inch at a good hardware store.

Did you check the fluid level in the rear end?

the brake adjuster wheels are closest to the rear brake shoe.as you adjust the adjuster wheel it should rotate in one direction only and the brakes should move outward towards the drum and is stopped when trying to turn the wheel in the opposite direction by the bar that is to stop it from rotating in the wrong direction.

Quite often it is a bad wheel bearing, a lot of chevy's are notorious for them. A wheel bearing will usually create a growling type noise that is more prominent at around 40-60MPH. If its a wheel bearing you should notice a change in pitch when turning in one direction, for example if you have a bad right side wheel bearing it will be noisy driving straight ahead, then get louder when turning LEFT. If you turn right the noise softens. The weight distribution of the front end will be greater on the right side when turning left. Of course the works in the opposite direction. If the noise remains constant going straight and turning it could be a bad tire. Visually check the tire for pressure and bulges in the side wall. You didn't mention what type or model vehicle you have, because in some cases the rear wheel bearing could be causing the noise.

iF YOUR PONTIAC HAS ELECTRIC OR ELECTRIC ASSIST STEERING, THEN IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE MISSING TEETH/DAMAGED GEAR INSIDE THE ELECTRICAL STEERING ASSEMBLY. THIS WOULD CAUSE THE NOISE AND THE OFF CENTER STEERING CONCERN.

what do you mean frozen? is it cold or old rusted? if it is cold take a hammer and hit the drums until the shoes free up.and stop putting on the emergency brake in the winter.adjust the adjustment wheel until the drum turns,if it will not turn adjust it the oppisite direction.

You probably blew your diff, take out the drain plug and see if you have any metal shavings, if not throw your car in neutral, jack the back end up and turn one of the wheels depending on your type of diff the other should turn in the opposite direction. If not you need to replace it.

OPPISITE MOVEMENT IS STANDARD W/OUT TENSION,SOUNDS LIKE TRANS IS GOING OUT.HOW OLDIS YOUR MOWER?

sounds like the steering wheel was turned sharply one way or the other when you turned off the key...turn the wheel in the oppisite direction while turning key to take tension off the steering wheel lock

Based on another similar problem and it was fixed driving backwards, that's exactly what I did. I drove the Rodeo backwards and then would stop and put it in gear and did this for 10 minutes until I worked the 4x4 gear loose and now all four wheels run. I must say, I created quite a sight driving backwards in a Wal-Green's parking lot for 10 minutes.