Quote:
Originally Posted by Dleslie212
Good morning everyone. I took apart my rear end conpletely yesterday except for the pinion. I want to go ahead and rebuild the entire thing, but I’ve never done this before and was hoping for a bit of feedback. Here’s what I have
77 K10
12 bolt
30 spline axles
11 pinion teeth, 41 ring gear teeth (3.73 ratio, correct?)
It currently has the G80 locker, but I’d like to install an actual locker on it. The ring gear has a few small chips on the ends of of a few teeth, but nothing major. I don’t mind replacing the ring and pinion, but I’m pretty intimidated by that. At the same time, I’d love to be able to say that everything in the rear has been replaced. What does everyone here think about installing a new carrier, but keeping the old ring and pinion? Should I be pretty safe reusing the old axle shafts instead of getting replacements?
Also, what kind of locker should I go for? I do a bit of off roading, but never anything hardcore. Most light or medium stuff, and lots of sand. I’d say 75 percent of my driving would be on the road, mostly just picking up the kid from school, or cruising around
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I would rebuild the entire axle with a new ring and pinion and a master rebuild kit which includes new bearings and seals. 11 pinion teeth and 41 ring gear teeth is a 3.73 gear. As far as axle shafts go, I would pull them and look at the splines for damage or if they are twisted up. Also check your outer axle bearings and replace the seals while you are there.
For the kind of driving you do, I would strongly recommend a Eaton TrueTrac limited slip. This is a excellent posi that does not have clutch packs to wear out and you run just regular gear oil with no additives for the clutch packs found in other limited slip units. The TrueTrack uses a helical gear design. The g80 was marginal at best even when new I would ditch it. I have a TrueTrac in the front 10 bolt in my 81 k10 and it has been flawless and I wish I put one in the rear of my truck instead of the Detroit locker.
Rebuilding a rear end is not a task for beginners as you do need some specialty tools such as a dial indicator. I would strongly recommend you take the axle or truck to a shop to do the work. It is possible to do yourself but like I said not for a novice mechanic or beginner.