Rear end rebuild 1996 tahoe

[Natedawwg]

Dumb question but i cant use the 12x41 pinion if im swappimg to 373. That pinion is 11x41

 

[Schurkey]

Dumb question but i cant use the 12x41 pinion if im swappimg to 373. That pinion is 11x41

That's not a question. That's a statement. As it turns out, it's a true statement.

12 x 41 or 11 x 41 is the tooth ratio of the pinion AND the ring gear. 11 or 12 for the pinion, 41 for the ring gear.

41 / 12 = 3.41666... = 3.42 advertised gear ratio.
41 / 11 = 3.727272... = 3.73 advertised gear rato.
For the record:
41 / 10 = 4.10 gear ratio
41 / 9 = 4.555... = 4.56 advertised gear ratio.

I assume you have 3.42 gears now, and you want 3.73 after the swap.

Since a 12-tooth pinion is larger diameter than an 11-tooth pinion, the ring gear has to be thinner to make room for it. So, NO, you can't re-use the 3.42 pinion 'cause you'd have the wrong gear ratio, and you can't re-use the 3.42 ring gear 'cause it won't fit right--too thin.

Ring and pinion gears are MATCHED SETS. They're even run-in together during manufacture, so ideally you wouldn't use a pinion gear from one set, and a ring gear from another set, and force 'em to work together.

 

[Natedawwg]

Thanks. Blew the locker up. Not the ring gear and just swapped whole 373 rear