1997 Tahoe 10 bolt to 14 bolt swap

[miaatch]

hey there i got a 97 tahoe 4wd with the 10 bolt that i have now busted 3 times. IM OVER IT. i thought that replacing the gov lock with an eaton limited slip would help. it did but i just broke the ring and pinion gears the other day fish tailing it in the rain. so no im looking into a 14 bolt semi floating swap. im only running 33's. the truck is not lifted however i obviously drive the truck pretty hard. it see's desert whoops, sand whoops, miller jeep trail. pretty much everything. im worried about the 14 bolt gov lock because i hate gov. locks. so i started asking the local rear end shop (hoopers) these guys are awesome and he suggested maybe going with the H2 rearend. it comes with an electric locker in it already. sounds like a great option but dont know how involved it will be to put in. also dont know much about the electronic locking mechanism in there. is it strong or not? am i better off with the regular 14 bolt with an eaton. or will the 14 bolt rear end with the stock gov lock be fine in my truck? any input anybody can give me would be awesome! thanks

 

[RGV2DRHOE]

From what I've read the Eaton E-Locker is a stout locker, not bullet proof like a detroit, but will probably hold up to the abuse you put it through. As far as using the H2 rear end im pretty sure its just a matter of cutting off the coil perches, and welding on the leaf spring perches and runing the lines up to the cab and switch. I would love to do this as selectable lockers in my opinion are the way to go for daily driven weekend warriors. Please if anyone has actually done this swap or know about it chime in cause I would love some hard facts

 

[trx88]

sitting here in my bedroom ive got the following

a yukon <1997 master install kit,
a set of motive 4.88 ring and pinion
an eaton elocker out of an 2003> h2 hummer
and a wiring harness designed to be used with the elocker and switch
they have a 33 spline axleshaft but the ones i have seen are 8 lug?
please somebody correct me if im wrong on that one..

[email protected] has told me quite a bit about this locker and there are pdf document manuals out there if you google for them that are pretty much a copy of what eaton throws in the box before shipping. You should email this guy from eaton with all of your concerns. gov locs break cause they get abused and because they lock when theyre under so much torq, detroits are awesome but for now im going to try out the selectable thing,

you can bet that ill post about my elocker if it goes too soon or it ******* out on me
my thing is i love my truck so much that i dont ever think ill even need the locker aside from launching boats into the big muddy river, its more for peace of mind

if your unsure and you like to beat on your truck and try stuff you know isnt the best for it than put a detroit in there cause you cant really beat it

this is me and another fella talking about elockers its probably useful to ya
http://www.gmt400.com/forum/showthread.php?1944-elocker-question