Yeah, like it says...

 

Yes it will, as long as it is for an 8.5/8.6.... my 81 Z-28 came with 2.73s in it, and it was an 8.5... the gears went into the garbage!!!

 

I have a set of stock GM old style 8.5 2.73's on a 2001 gov loc in a 95 rcsb and they set up with no problem. I am unsure of what year the 2.73's came out of but I am sure they are pre 8.6 because 2.73's didn't come in anything with the 8.6. Besides, all I can tell the difference between the 8.5 and 8.6 is the carrier brgs are different dimensions. I dug through a BCA National dimension book and found the proper brg dimensions to get the 8.6 to fit in the 8.5.

 

You can even run 2.41 gears in the 8.5/8.6. The 8.5 and 8.6 gears are interchangeable. But like mentioned above, the carrier bearings are different. What part number did you find to make the old carrier work in the 01 ?

 

I don't know what tire you're planning on running, but if its around 28" I wouldn't go any lower on a truck than a 3.23. Turbo's like high gears, but you also have a heavy truck that takes a bit more effort to get moving. Also, I've given this a lot of thought with the 6spd and all and with a 3.23, a 29" street tire, at 75mph highway speed in 6th you'll be at roughly 1400rpm. That's great for gas mileage, but I would be concerned if the truck could push itself along at that low of an rpm without being in boost the whole time. I drive my **** everyday, so I use all the gears all the time, so to me this is an issue. If I couldn't use 6th, then I'd just put an 80E in it an cry myself to sleep every night.

 

I was thinking of trying a th400 and 2.73 gearing. I was trying to figure out street gearing and track. I was debaiting on going with the gear vendor unit or just gearing the rearend. I was thinking 2.73 gearing 26 inch tall tire for the track, and 28 inch tall tire or bigger for the street. But today I was driving my truck and I just cant go auto, the 6 speed is so much fun.

 

If you're going to run a 26" tire, then you'd probably be alright with 2.73's. You could always have the 400 with a manual valve body, so it'd be like shifting, but without the foot work.

How much are gear vendor's units going for these days?

 

I found them brand new for 2100-2500. I have also seen them on ebay reconditioned to form $1000-1500. It is tempting. If I did the gear vendor I would go with a 3.23 rear end gear.

 

I just looked up the part # for brg for the 8.5 and for the 8.6, I then looked up their dimensions in the dimension book and found a brg with the correct ID and OD and thickness that I needed. Sorry, I don't have the part#.

I have 31.5" tall tires with my 6 speed turbo'd 6.0 and It is around 1750rpm @80mph and the engine lugs too much. I have 3.73's now and will probably be going with 4.10's to correct this problem, not to mention having to ride the clutch starting off with the 2.62 1st gear. I am going to see how it does at the track with my 28" dot slicks first before I commit to the gear swap though. 4.10's should put me around 2000rpm @ 80mph.

 

I just switched to 4.10's I love it. It feels so much better. 6th gear is alot more usable. 1st gear feels better as well. I run a 28 inch tire street and track. I will also wait to see how much better I do at the track. I think I will get out of the hole alot better. But, I am worried about spooling the turbo early enough. It looked like on my last dyno the power is comeing in later than normal on that dyno. But the gears may work out, depending on your shift points, and where your power band is with your cam.