When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
They are very common. I'd look around for a junk yard that is a little smaller and off the beaten path. But even the small town operators seem to know that a "chunk" is about $100. Maybe more if its a desirable ratio, or if its got a posi (technically a "trac-loc" in Ford lingo).
I have a 3.00 that I would let go of, but I think the shipping would make the deal a poor one. They are heavy (maybe 70 lbs) so getting one locally is the best option.
As to a new one -- well they are so popular partly because they are so indestructible. New ones would cost an arm and a leg I think. But why pay for new, when a used one is good as the day it rolled out of Dearborn.
Thanks for the advice I was checking on new ones because I am not real sure what to look for when getting one from a junk yard I will make some phone calls and see what I can find.