need help/opinions/advice/etc!!!

[xtreme.97]

so my truck is stuck in the driveway, rear end took a dive a couple of days ago. i haven't pulled the diff cover off yet to verify, but from the symptoms, my mechanic said i probably sheared a couple of teeth off the gears. so now i need some advice from some guys more experienced than i am. i figure i have 3 different options.

my truck is on 37's but still running the factory 3.73's (i know, i know). option 1 would be to pay a shop to rebuild it with factory gears. i'm mechanically inclined, but no professional by anyone's definition. i can do some stuff, but i don't have the tools or the knowledge to change out gears. i wanna learn, but i don't wanna practice on my dd and screw something up.

option 2 is to regear. i've wanted to do that for a while but never had the 2k laying around to do front and rear. and i still don't. so i would have to do just the rear and 4wd would be unusable until i did the front.

option 3 is to find a whole axle and just bolt it in. that would be easier mechanically so i could do that myself and an axle would probably be cheaper than paying a shop to do the gears. and i'd also have a spare axle to learn on and i could build it like i want (new gears, locker, and disc brakes) and put it back under the truck later. only thing i'm worried about here is that the axle i buy could be in as bad of shape as mine and may go out on me soon. i checked lkq here locally because i was told that they inspect the parts pretty well before selling them, but my local lkq doesn't have the 4wd axle right now.

thats pretty much where im at. i don't have a ton of money so im trying to do it economically but also do it right. i don't really take my truck offroad, its more of a lifted street queen to be honest. i've used 4wd about 5 times in the last 2 years, and 4 of those times were just because i could lol. just hoping to get some insight or advice that may help me make a decision on what to do. either way, i gotta get it back on the road pretty soon, this bumming rides to work sucks.

also, if i decide to buy a whole new axle and bolt it in, are there any other models that would work without heavy modification. i'm assuming lkq's search engine looks at all parts that would fit my application, but i just searched a 97 tahoe 4wd with the 3.73 gear ratio and there were none. any other models that i could search? i really appreciate all the help. i'm pretty new to gears and axles so any help would be awesome. thanks guys!

 

[ChrisAU]

You do know the rear gears have to match the front, right?

 

[xtreme.97]

yeah i do. thats why i said if i regear just the rear, 4wd will be unusable until i do the front. i know its not the best case scenario, but i wasn't really planning on this right now so money is a concern.

 

[ChrisAU]

Well if you are ok with no 4x4 for a while then remove the front drive shaft and do the rear but eliminate option 1. If you are paying someone to regear, the cost will be the same for 3.73's or 4.56's. So, I'd do 4.56's. 4.56's are a common gear used for 35's even though it is too much IMO, especially if you drive on the highway a lot. However, you may be able to find one already geared. I'd look and see what I could find in a rear axle - no reason to get one that is not 3.73 or 4.56 though. You will find mostly 3.42's I'm afraid. I wish my 92 had 3.73's.

 

[xtreme.97]

yeah if i found a whole new axle, i wouldn't do anything less. the whole point of getting a whole new axle is to keep from having to take it to a shop to gear it, which i would have to do with anything less than 3.73 with my 37's. i was kinda leaning towards eliminating option 1, seems like a waste. but i don't like the thought of not having 4wd for a while in case i need it. plus i just hate doing things half-a$$ like that. guess right now i just gotta do what i gotta do, and having the rearend rebuilt with 3.73s is just wasting money since i want to regear anyways.

right now i have my uncle checking with a friend of his that is a main buyer for lkq to see if he can get an axle. if not, its either roll the dice on a junkyard axle with 3.73 or shell out $900-1000 and put some 4.56 in the rear.

since that is a possibility, any recommendations on brands for the new gears? 4.56 should be good right? i don't drive on the interstate very often. most days is surface streets from 35-55mph with traffic lights and such. that should help with my crappy mpg too...

 

[ChrisAU]

Yukon Gear is what has always been recommended to me.

 

[dirtridinz71]

IMO your best budget move would be to find a 9.5" 14 bolt rear axle with 3.73 gears and swap that in, then save up for gears, I would go 4.88's with the 37's with the little highway you drive. Defintly will see an increase in performance and mpg.
With the 37's I would not waste a single cent on a 10 bolt axle, defintly not worth dropping the cost of new gears into one. Though if needed running you have to do what you can, for a used 10 bolt should not pay more then $100.

 

[xtreme.97]

IMO your best budget move would be to find a 9.5" 14 bolt rear axle with 3.73 gears and swap that in, then save up for gears, I would go 4.88's with the 37's with the little highway you drive. Defintly will see an increase in performance and mpg.
With the 37's I would not waste a single cent on a 10 bolt axle, defintly not worth dropping the cost of new gears into one. Though if needed running you have to do what you can, for a used 10 bolt should not pay more then $100.

lol yeah i was just reading some threads on the 14 bolt swap. i thought about doing it a while back but from what i read it seemed like the biggest advantage to the 14 bolt would be strength for offroad. since i never do that, i figured it might be a waste of money. my biggest issue with the 14b is that my knowledge fades bad once i go past the firewall. it seems fairly straighforward for someone with some mechanical knowledge, i just don't know much about the rearend or if i even have the proper tools to try something like that. i get the differences between the semi float and full float and that some of the semi float came with 6 lug, but other than that i'm not really sure what i'm looking for. seems like i can pretty much just follow some how-to's and read part numbers, the biggest thing that concerns me is the driveshaft. some guys are saying that the shaft needs to be shortened. in my head tho, i'm thinking that the lift kit probably needs a longer shaft anyways, so using a 14b with the factory driveshaft should kinda even everything out shouldn't it?

 

[dirtridinz71]

lol yeah i was just reading some threads on the 14 bolt swap. i thought about doing it a while back but from what i read it seemed like the biggest advantage to the 14 bolt would be strength for offroad. since i never do that, i figured it might be a waste of money. my biggest issue with the 14b is that my knowledge fades bad once i go past the firewall. it seems fairly straighforward for someone with some mechanical knowledge, i just don't know much about the rearend or if i even have the proper tools to try something like that. i get the differences between the semi float and full float and that some of the semi float came with 6 lug, but other than that i'm not really sure what i'm looking for. seems like i can pretty much just follow some how-to's and read part numbers, the biggest thing that concerns me is the driveshaft. some guys are saying that the shaft needs to be shortened. in my head tho, i'm thinking that the lift kit probably needs a longer shaft anyways, so using a 14b with the factory driveshaft should kinda even everything out shouldn't it?

The stock driveshaft will be good, no ned to modify it. The install of the 14 bolt will be no difference then swapping out the 10 bolts. Just a matter of rear u-joint, 4 u bolts, 1 breakline, and 2 e brake cables.

As you discovered 10 bolts don't need to be offroaded or abused to fail, with the large tires it makes it even worse. An upgraded carrier/locker will help improve its life but still not worth the cost imo.