future axle swap need best direction

[Guy Dietrich jr.]

ok guys this i the first time i have ever posted in a forum and its more for advice and direction not sure if this is the correct spot to post but its the best of the options.

i have a 2002 yukon 4x4 on a 6 inch lift and 35s and 4.56 gears and i have blown the stock rear up more then i care to admit whether it be my own mistakes in gear set up or trying to remove 9000lb diesel excursion from a hole after a winch failure. the idea with this truck is to eventually swap in a duramax LBZ vin code D as from experience working for a new jersey dealer they are the best year in my opinion pre exhaust filter days. my question is should i make sure i get the 11.5 inch rear to swap in or can i get away with the 10.5 inch? the pros i see from specs for 11.5 is its slightly stronger and was the stock rear for the durmax powered trucks. however the parts are not as popular and seem to be more expensive which is giving me some doubt. if anyone here has some insight or can point me to the place that would be greatly appreciated. again if this is not the right place to post i apologize. 

[davester]

If you are eventually going to swap in a Duramax, I would suggest getting the 11.5 inch rear end.   While the 10.5 will likely work fine most of the time, do you really want the rear end to blow up again sometime when you get on the go-pedal with the Duramax, particularly with the big tires and higher ratio.  It sounds like this is a vehicle you want to keep and use for some time, that would be another reason to not try to save a few pennies up front...