Help me decide what to do??

master_painter · Nov 16, 2024

Good afternoon how's everybody doing so I have a question to ask and the other three Tahoe that I have that I bought a few months back, the original owner customized the suspension and other things and for his work he pulled a 20 ft box trailer with lawn equipment in it so he changed the gear ratio in the back so the gear ratio is not the same as a gear ratio in the front so one I can't use two I've already replaced the seal on one side for some reason and three now I got a weird noise coming out. I went and bought new seats and bearings and seals. So my question is I want to be able to use my four-wheel drive so should I change my differential combo all together or should I just pull out the whole entire rear end and go ahead and get another one and hope that I get a good one I played with the rear end before it's not a unknown playground for me but I'm just trying to figure out maybe which way I should go with it

GMCChevy · Nov 16, 2024

If it were mine I'd get a used rear end to put back in with the right ratio, they aren't that hard to find and shouldn't only need new seala as preventative work at most.
Unless you want to go with a whole different ratio front and back.

PG01 · Nov 16, 2024

master_painter said:
Good afternoon how's everybody doing so I have a question to ask and the other three Tahoe that I have that I bought a few months back, the original owner customized the suspension and other things and for his work he pulled a 20 ft box trailer with lawn equipment in it so he changed the gear ratio in the back so the gear ratio is not the same as a gear ratio in the front so one I can't use two I've already replaced the seal on one side for some reason and three now I got a weird noise coming out. I went and bought new seats and bearings and seals. So my question is I want to be able to use my four-wheel drive so should I change my differential combo all together or should I just pull out the whole entire rear end and go ahead and get another one and hope that I get a good one I played with the rear end before it's not a unknown playground for me but I'm just trying to figure out maybe which way I should go with it

If youve never set up a rear before and you want to do it im sure you can find plenty of info here or other sites but swapping out the entire rear axle would probably be easier/quicker for you. Just my opinion

Marky Dissod · Nov 16, 2024

GMCChevy said:
If it were mine I'd get a used rear end to put back in with the right ratio ...
Unless you want to go with a whole different ratio front and back.

BOOO.
The correct ratio is the more assertive ratio, not the weaker one!

Ok, seriously:
Is it cheaper to upgrade the front diff? Or to downgrade the rear diff?
My hope for you, is, upgrade the front diff.

Unless nearly ALL your driving is highway miles, you want 4.10 axles -
especially if you plan on working or playing hard with it.
If ALL your driving is highway miles, you might be happier with 3.73 axles.
Anything under 3.73 will make you fantasize about a 6.0L.

strutaeng · Nov 16, 2024

Axle swap is easier, but takes more heavy work. Regear is more difficult because it takes precision measurements/setup and is tedious work.

I seen this guy with an old now plow 1500 truck, non street legal. He swapped a 14 bolt rear with a numerically higher gear than the front. It was a rust bucket so wasn't going to regear anything, so he used some larger rear wheels and smaller front wheels, such that the wheel RPM matched very closely front and back. He calculated what tires he needed beforehand. Not saying you should do this, but that may be something to consider? IDK.

master_painter · Nov 16, 2024

Marky Dissod said:
BOOO.
The correct ratio is the more assertive ratio, not the weaker one!

Ok, seriously:
Is it cheaper to upgrade the front diff? Or to downgrade the rear diff?
My hope for you, is, upgrade the front diff.

Unless nearly ALL your driving is highway miles, you want 4.10 axles -
especially if you plan on working or playing hard with it.
If ALL your driving is highway miles, you might be happier with 3.73 axles.
Anything under 3.73 will make you fantasize about a 6.0L.

That's the problem I don't know what the back is to match the front. But my rear end is screaming at me so I have to move it one way or the other. I'm just trying to understand which one would be less of a headache to swap out the whole entire rear end or just to take a differential pumpkin out of the housing and swap that out depending gear and all that's not all that bad I've already broke it open once

Marky Dissod · Nov 16, 2024

master_painter said:
That's the problem I don't know what the back is to match the front.

Take a pic of the SPID sticker in your glovebox.
Look for one of the following three-character codes:
GU5 = 3.23 - NOO!
GU6 = 3.42 - YUCK
GT4 = 3.73 - MEHH
GT5 = 4.10 - YEAH

Knowing is half the battle.
Other half is figuring out which is cheaper: front or rear diff?

strutaeng said:
Axle swap is easier, but takes more heavy work. Regear is more difficult because it takes precision measurements/setup and is tedious work.

Anyone can swap an axle with the right tools and precautions, especially with a friend.
To regear an axle requires special tools AND specialized experience.
Majority of mechanic shops only have one guy trusted to change ring&pinions - some have none.

Marky Dissod · Nov 16, 2024

strutaeng said:
... seen this guy with an old snowplow 1500 truck, non street legal. He swapped a 14 bolt rear with a numerically higher gear than the front.
It was a rust bucket so wasn't going to regear anything, so he used some larger rear tires and smaller front tires,
such that the wheel RpM matched very closely front and back. He calculated what tires he needed beforehand.

Not saying you should do this, but that may be something to consider? IDK.

Better this, than that idiotarded schidt where it looks like it's dragging / wiping it's @r$eh01e on the ground.

GMCChevy · Nov 16, 2024

Marky Dissod said:
BOOO.
The correct ratio is the more assertive ratio, not the weaker one!

Ok, seriously:
Is it cheaper to upgrade the front diff? Or to downgrade the rear diff?
My hope for you, is, upgrade the front diff.

Unless nearly ALL your driving is highway miles, you want 4.10 axles -
especially if you plan on working or playing hard with it.
If ALL your driving is highway miles, you might be happier with 3.73 axles.
Anything under 3.73 will make you fantasize about a 6.0L.

It all depends on what he wants out of it and how much time and money he wants to spend on it.
I do enough highway driving that I wouldn't want 4.10s and unless there's a good reason I'd rather mess with the rear axle then front.
Well for that matter you're right if the front is a crappy gear that would be a disappointment too. I was happy with my 04.

GMCChevy · Nov 16, 2024

master_painter said:
That's the problem I don't know what the back is to match the front. But my rear end is screaming at me so I have to move it one way or the other. I'm just trying to understand which one would be less of a headache to swap out the whole entire rear end or just to take a differential pumpkin out of the housing and swap that out depending gear and all that's not all that bad I've already broke it open once

It's usually easier to swap the whole axle especially if you don't know how to set it up and that it's a very common part.

Help me decide what to do??

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