Cadillac Repair: front differential, metal shavings, differential fluid

Question
There has been a rubbing noise coming from the front end of my 04 Escalade. A mechanic showed me metal shavings in the differential fluid and said it needs to be replaced and I should take it to Cadillac. The truck has 56,000 miles on it and the warranty is for 50,000. They said it would be at least $2000 to replace. Do you think that's a fair price? How difficult is it to replace? My lease is up in 6 months and I don't want to have to put this much $ into it. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Answer
Henry,
I'd probably change the fluid and take an "early-out" on the lease rather than rebuild the differential. IMO, $2000 is a bit on the high-side. It really depends on what kind of deal you can make on getting out of the lease. Penalties might be as much as fixing the diff. I'd look into a trade-in first, then if that doesn't pan out, have a shop that does differentials give you a solid quote on the job. At that point, it's really just a dollars and cents issue.