Question about rear ends for lifted trucks

Say · September 10, 2003

Hey guys,

I have a 2003 Silverado 2wd ECSB with the 5.3. I want to get it lifted and I think I'm gonna go with the CST 7" lift and a body lift. I want to get like 37s cuz my buddy has 35s on his =) so should I get like new gears or a beefier rear end??? Which would you recommend. Thanks

MarkD · September 10, 2003

I would just get gears. To replace your rear-end you are looking at $2k+ .

How bad are you going to treat it?

kaspar139 · September 11, 2003

Agreed, if you are going to do some serious off roading, or anything like that, you will want GEARS in a NEW REAREND. Otherwise, just gears would be good.

bigdogs · September 11, 2003

I had a Blazer that I lifted with an 8" lift kit but I replaced the axles (Dana 60 front, 10.5" 14 bolt in rear) and put in 4.11's (with locker/posi on both ends). It does cost a lot more to do it this way but ends up being a stronger truck. I felt better there was bigger axles (shafts, bearings, brakes, etc.) to handle the extra stress the bigger tires put on the truck.

I also ended up replacing the TH350 with a TH400 (already had a NP205 transfer case so knew that was not going to be a problem) to beef up the whole driveline.

One thing I would DEFINITELY check on is how lifting it will affect your warranty being it is new. My Blazer was WAY out of warranty when I did it so not an issue, but I have heard that lifiting it will void the warranty.

DejaVu · September 11, 2003

Check out 4 wheelparts they have a gear and locker combo. Since yours is 2WD, Lockers would do you real good in loose or uneven situations. And since they are gonna have the rear end all apart putting gears in it will be cheaper to do it at the same time.

EMPIRE231 · September 11, 2003

I have the same truck w/ the same lift that you want to get; it wont clear 37's without alot of triming. I have 36's on mine and it started to rub after the springs sagged in. I had a shop modify a lower arm spacer to eliminate that. I'm currently still running my stock ratio, which is 3.73's but this weekend I'm getting 4.56's. 4.56 ration works pretty good anywhere from a 36" tire to a 38" tire.

chvythndr · September 12, 2003

I've got 36x14.50 on my 2002 Z71 w/ 9" of lift and I still rub the front fenders when off roading. If you plan on doing a lot of wheeling, you might just want to do it right the 1st time and do a 14 bolt swap w/ 4.56s and a Detroit locker in the rear. I'm going that route when the time comes.