Rear Gear Replacement

[Worktruck]

I have to replace the rear gears in my son's 98 S-10. I ran the RPO's and find that it has 3:73 gears and positrac. Judging by the way its acting I suspect the spiders have failed. Looking for advice as to wether or not to have the rear end rebuilt or go to a salvage yard for another rear end. Truck has 130K on it and don't think he'll have it to much longer. Either way I go what should I expect to pay. If I go the salvage route I will be swapping the rear myself. Just have never rebuilt a rear gear before and know they are real precise. Thanks for any input. Jeff

[Hotwire]

Rear gears aren't that bad to install. But if he's getting ready to get rid of it, I'd recommend getting a rear from a junkyard, expect to pay anywhere from $50-300 depending on what you need.

 

You'll have to figure out what rear the truck actually has, is it a 7 5/8" or 8.5"? then check to see what kind of yoke the pinion has to connect to the driveshaft, Gm got stupid and did some double universals on ext. cabs that really are a pain, technical term is a double cardigan joint.

 

If you have a 7 5/8s, then you can get a rear from any s-10 from 1982 - present, just keep 2wds to 2wds, 4wds to 4wds. The parking brake cables never changed, spring mounts never changed, just 82-89 has 26 spline axles, and a different brake cylinder than the 90+. if you're just swapping the rears, none of this matters, just bolt it in, check the fluid, bleed the brakes and roll on.

 

good luck!