Drizzle

If I went with the same ratio of gears I had stock could I replace them myself at home? It needs the pinion bearings replaced for sure because thats what made the gears strip in the first place. I am fully capable of removing the diff itself cause I have already had it out to remove the pinion head that was broken off and causing my rear end to lock up.

TurboGibbs

iTrader: (6)

I have known of too many people that have done it with success that have never done much more than change spark plugs. It is a gamble but your chances of success are pretty good, better than 50/50, especially if you install OEM gears. I have had sucess in the past, even with different ratios, where I didn't have to change a thing. It would just make me sick when the same people would wonder why it would take me so long to set up some gears when they didn't have any problems . Main thing is to have a mag base dial indicator and marking compound to check backlash and pattern to make sure before you button her up and take it down the road. If you drive a new set that is whining more than a mile or two they will break-in to the improper pattern and you may never get them to be quiet again, even if you get them set up properly . They will basically be junk. You can try it if you want. But if they are noisy when you drive take it home or to a shop immediatly to prevent from ruining the gears forever!
you can get a cheap indicator w/ mag base from Harbor freight, Enco.com, etc. for around $25. It will get the job done.

Drizzle

Sweet! Whats the best way to get some gears? Like what place online...this would be a big (8.5") 10 bolt right? Could I put some 4.10s in there? Would that be a good size for a stock truck with 315/70/16's they are about 34's. Thanks

TurboGibbs

iTrader: (6)

I don't know? What truck do you have?
Another thing. You will need a new crush sleeve. It goes between the bearings on the pinion to properly load them. You have to actually crush the sleeve when tightening the pinion nut. This takes an extreme amount of torque. The problem usually lies in holding the yoke and preventing it from turning. This can be acomplished with a good impact wrench but be careful not to over tighten. Other wise a breaker bar and a cheater bar that you can stand on from the side of the truck. I usually use a large pipe wrench to hold the yoke that is being forced against the ground with blocks to space it up off the ground against the end of the wrench. Another thing is the need of a press or a special "cup" puller to pull the bearing off the pinion. There are shims located behind this bearing that are critical to reuse or + or - shims to adjust pinon depth. you can carry the gears to a machine shop to press the bearings if you don't have a press. Like I said before, if you can just put it back together with all the shims in the same places(be sure you keep up with this when you pull the carrier out because the shims are going to fall out) it can be fairly simple(if you don't have to adjust shims). I am sure you can see why most people pay the $150 -250 in labor to have this done. It requires special tools and a lot of patience. I have just hit the high spots. I strongly suggest picking up a manual that instructs the fine details if you are going to attempt it. I'm sure you can find instructions on the web. The general concept of all rear end gear set-ups are the same no matter the make.
Mark

Drizzle

I have a 97 4 wheel drive tahoe. Where is a good online shop that sells rear end gears and also....how do I find out exactly what mine is? Is there a code somewhere I can look up?

Wilde Racing

iTrader: (26)

This might help. ...The page that answers all.........if you can read it.

vanillagorilla

iTrader: (1)

Do you happen to use your 4wd at all? If so you might want to change both sets of gears if you're going with a different ratio.

TurboGibbs

iTrader: (6)

you should have an 8.5 10 bolt with 30 spline axles. If you don't change both front and rear only plan on using the 4wd if you are going really slow and am in something so nasty that it wouldn't matter anyway. Nothing faster than 10mph in the snow or mud etc. The different ratios could make your ABS go nuts when you hit the brakes when the truck sees 2 different axle speeds!

CHEVY6000VHO

iTrader: (2)

Not all gear sets are of equal quality. The best set of matched gears will be a set of OE gears straight from GM. Just choose your ratio wisely.
You may not like the gas miliage with the 4.10's. 3.73's should fit your bill.
Good Luck!

Jim