'96 Tahoe 4x4 2 door rear end interchange

[Onebadsuv]

Seasons Greetings !

I've owned my 1996 2 door Tahoe LT 4x4 practically since new , it was still well under the 36,000 mile limited factory warranty when I got it . From the very start it had the driveline clunk problem which the dealer seemingly made go away by pulling the driveshaft and greasing the splines . This "fix" never lasted very long and it had to be done multiple times ... up untill the 36,000 mile point and then I was on my own . Not many miles later somewhere in the 60's the sunshell in the trans let go taking out the entire unit (metal throughout) so I put in a HD towing 4L60-E with a new torque converter and life was good again . Shifts were vastly superior to stock unit , ect. But it still clunked. Fast forward to a month ago when I was pulling away from a traffic light on a road that was being repaved , it was only partially done so one side of the Tahoe was on a raised lane of new ashpalt and the other side was riding lower on the old roadbed height. There was a bang , some grinding and totall loss of all forward movement. The only way to get it going was to manually shift it into 1st and then it went "into gear" . Once moving it would shift on it's own if the shifter was put in drive. But from a dead stop it acted like it was in nuetral. Reverse worked fine and all gears were available. It just wouldn't take of from a stop unless dropped into 1st. Diagnosis :
Forward Sprag busted in the Trans ... so the replacement transmission made it to just over 100,000 miles before calling it quits . I replaced the one piece bellhousing 4L60-E with a newer generation removable bell type 4L65-e?) which swapped in fine . Thinking all is well again I went to test drive , backed down the driveway , put it in Drive and ... Bang ! GRRRind, grind. Clunk. VERY loud noises. Dropped the transfercase and split the case to find ... major gear tooth damage and fractures. Found a replacement, internalls checked out good so in it goes . Got the truck all buttoned-up and confidently go for a test drive ... BANG ! BANG ! Clunking grinding noise all over again !! Unbelievable . What now ? Turns out the rear end had taken out the entire drive line from busted spider gears . Now I need a complete rear axel assembly to swap in and don't know what I can safely pull from which donor vehicles or years . It's a 2 door 4x4 with 3.42 (GU6) can anyone point me to a suitable donor truck please ?!

Thanks VERY much and Happy Holidays !

 

[clean454]

as long as the gearing is the same i dont think there is much of a difference.

 

[Onebadsuv]

I went to a junk yard and pulled a rear from a 4 door Tahoe 2WD and it did not match up . I was told after I returned the axel to the yard only another 4x4 2 door rear axel assembly would install correctly . My question was does anyone know what model and year other chevy vehicles could be swapped in to my 1996 2 door 4x4 ? OH , and Yes I looked for other 2 doors at junk yards - there was only one and it was stripped !

 

[99COOP]

If you going for a direct swap the easiest to find is a 10 bolt obs (pre 99') it can come from a 1500 truck, tahoe, blazer, and suburban. 4x4 is a must, the 2 wheel drive axles are a few inches narrower. Measure the spring perches so you know you have an exact match. Also double check the gears, you don't wanna be sold mis matched gears by accident and grenade your driveline yet again.

 

[Onebadsuv]

If you going for a direct swap the easiest to find is a 10 bolt obs (pre 99') it can come from a 1500 truck, tahoe, blazer, and suburban. 4x4 is a must, the 2 wheel drive axles are a few inches narrower. Measure the spring perches so you know you have an exact match. Also double check the gears, you don't wanna be sold mis matched gears by accident and grenade your driveline yet again.

Thanks for the info , it would explain why all the 4x4 rears have already been pulled - plenty of 2wd axels though ... Best Upgrade options ?

 

[Cartwright]

You could always go for a 6Lug 14bolt out of an OBS.

 

[Onebadsuv]

You could always go for a 6Lug 14bolt out of an OBS.

Is that a direct-bolton swap ? If not what mods would need to be done ? What vehicles are good donors to look for ? Need to fix ASAP !
Thanks for any info

 

[bowtiefreak]

for the most part yes, the 14bsf is a direct swap. Make sure the ratios are the same, you will need bigger u bolts and new u joint. other than that yes.

 

[Onebadsuv]

OK- I'm on it ... What DONOR vehicles are the most promising to look for 14 bolt- minimal mods to mount ?

 

[TIM Z]

First off Welcome!

Sounds like youve been thru the gammet of repairs!

I cant believe a 4 door rear end wont work ?? What didnt match up?

How bout just rebuilding your rear end you have now ?


If you swap in a 14 bolt you'll lose performance and mileage, thats a Heavy rear end you dont really need.

I dont see why a late model half ton rear end wouldnt work either??

Good luck.

 

[Onebadsuv]

Thanks for the welcome ! I've never registered until now , because the rear axel is seemingly hard to find ... not sure which would fit from what truck - the one I pulled was from a 2 wheel drive - I have 4x4 . Thought about rebuilding too , but I already paid cash to a local bone yard for a rear that won't fit , and they do not refund period . Credit only ! So today i'm going to pick through every possible vehicle to find a decent rear axel assembly.

First off Welcome!

Sounds like youve been thru the gammet of repairs!

I cant believe a 4 door rear end wont work ?? What didnt match up?

How bout just rebuilding your rear end you have now ?


If you swap in a 14 bolt you'll lose performance and mileage, thats a Heavy rear end you dont really need.

I dont see why a late model half ton rear end wouldnt work either??

Good luck.

 

[TIM Z]

Thanks for the welcome ! I've never registered until now , because the rear axel is seemingly hard to find ... not sure which would fit from what truck - the one I pulled was from a 2 wheel drive - I have 4x4 . Thought about rebuilding too , but I already paid cash to a local bone yard for a rear that won't fit , and they do not refund period . Credit only ! So today i'm going to pick through every possible vehicle to find a decent rear axel assembly.

Gotcha. I still thought a 2 wheel rear end 10 bolt would be the same,

Look at the 88 up 4x4 trucks, even 99-07 should possbly have the rear you need.

04 ( i believe) and up had rear disk brakes so you could possibly upgrade or have to swap out brakes maybe.

Also remember to look the GU6 code in the glove box of the donor vehicle if possible.

Good luck.

 

[Onebadsuv]

Did not realize there is a performance AND fuel penalty in the switch to 14bolt - Methinks 10bolt is the way to go here . Anyone know how much less the GT-4 MPG is VS the GU-6 ?

 

[bowtiefreak]

a 14 bolt can be found in some light duty 2500 series trucks. Stay away from the nbs trucks unless you want to relocate mounting brackets and things. There are no gas milage changes in going from the 10b to the 14b...so long as the gearing is the same. The benefit is the strength.

 

[Onebadsuv]

rear end swap completed ...

After *much* searching for a suitable axle which wasn't accompanied with crazy high prices , as much as $600.00 ! I ended up using a 10 bolt already pulled from a '95 4 door . It had a sway bar (removed that for my 2 door) and was complete "drum to drum" for $200.00 . My OEM rear came with smaller 10" drums along with the small shoes - the new to me axle has much bigger 11" drums using shoes that dwarf 10's . Braking greatly improved there . Only issue was my gear set from fact. is GU6 (3.42) open diff and the new rear has the GT4 (3.73) G80 . No more one wheel peel but the front IFS diff still has a 3.42 ring and pinion so I've lost 4 wheel drive . I'm open to any suggestions what best option would be here . The original rear end 3.42 ring was destroyed AND one of carrier bolts snapped clean off when the spider gears let go ... major metal carnage !

 

[clean454]

see if the 95 4dr that the rear came out of is still there and get the front ifs diff for a decent price

or price out getting the front re-geared

 

[Bad bow tie]

If it were me I would go with 3.73 because I have 3.42 and hate them. I am running a 33" tire and my truck dogs on the highway. There won't be a huge difference in fuel economy. My vote goes to re-gearing the front diff but it all depends on what you want and how you drive it.

 

[Onebadsuv]

front ifs re-gear

@ Thanks clean95 , for suggesting snagging the front IFS along with the rear axle ...
and I would have too , but the vehicle was parted out - it was already a stripped - clean '95 4 door Tahoe ! LOL

@ Bad bow tie , I couldn't agree with You more - the OEM 3.42 gearset blows - rpo GU6 (3.42) supposedly best fuel economy , however tire choices are limited at best , You have to run a P rated tire and 245 is recommended MAX is 265 resulting in loss of fuel economy . My mileage sucked with that gear ratio after replacing the factory goodyear's to run decent BFG TKO all terrain's . Probably why I had two 4L60e's die on me too . With the GT4 (3.73) I can run a tire with a TRUCK rating with no loss in mileage and great performance on and off road .

************* 3.42 *****************