front drive shaft for 4.88 gears.

[bjballar41]

the tahoe doesnt have a front drive shaft so the 4wheel drive doesnt work and im wanting to get this done before winter. it has 4.88 gears in the back so do i need a front drive shaft for 4.88 gears or will a stock one work or what not sure about all this at all.

 

[gregsb]

If you referring to only the driveshaft then any stock one for your truck should work. The only thing you might have to worry about is length due to your lift kit as I am not sure how a 6" lift will have an effect. I know on mine I am running stock with a 4" lift

 

[SunlitComet]

A stock one will work just make sure your gear ratios match front to back. Lifted vehicles may need a different or modded shaft but it depends on what you have. How about some more details on your vehicle. Like pics of what you are turning with 4.88 gears.

 

[bowtiefreak]

I'm going out on a limb here: you have a 6"suspension lift with a 35-37" tire? The stock shaft will be fine UNLESS you have autotrac. There are most likely a few reasons that the shaft is not there. The autotrac and the previous owner not wanting to drop a few hundred on a new shaft. Reason 2, the Y pipe is not modified to run around the front shaft and it was taken out for clearance issues. Third, the front gears are not done. And lastly, ALL OF THE ABOVE.

 

[gregsb]

Kris,

Good points, I had assumed that the shaft had been on the truck when purchased but looking at it from your perspective more information is definitely needed.

Educate me some, what is different about the AutoTrak on a lifted truck?

 

[bjballar41]

isnt the autotrac awd? thought those only came on denalis and escalades? it does have 37 inch wheels but im thinking about taking the 3 inch body lift off and doing 35s around tax time. if i end up lowering it will i need to change the drive shaft to something shorter. it has 4.88 gears in the rear and i believe previous owner said all that was needed was the front needed to be regeared to match the back. what exactly needed to be changed in the front? ive never messed with gears as im usually into lowered trucks not lifted. can i buy a kit? or do i need a whole new something up front. the gf is driving the truck right now so ill try and take some pics up under it tonight when she gets home and check on the y pipe. i dont think it was in the way last time i was under it but cant say for sure. and johnathan what do u mean pics of what im turning do u mean wheels and tires? any other questions and ill try and answer from what i know so far. i really wanna get this done before winter gets here.

 

[SunlitComet]

autotrac is a a selectable but also auto 4wd hi switching if button selected to be so. You would want to get a gear set and bearing/seal master kit to do it but the front differential has to com out to do it. Post pics of your ride. Multiple shots are always drooled upon here.

 

[bowtiefreak]

my man sunlit got it about the auto 4wd option switch.

In taking the body lift off, that shold not effect any part of the drivetrain, so the front shaft will be fine

 

[bjballar41]

ok time for some pics let me know if yall want pics of anything else.


new cv boot done last friday. think i need some new shocks what yall think?

on these next two pics does it look like the tires have some positive camber? it has an adjustable camber kit on it but idk how to adjust it like i said earlier never messed with lifted trucks before. if i cant get it fixed cause i know i cant lift it i can take it to my buddy who did the cv boot for me.

this is the front differential

exhaust pipe that might be in the way exhaust looks completely stock so im gonna assume its gonna be in the way

now for some just typical shots

this is what i know of it so far. it is a 00 z71 tahoe with 6 inch rough country lift and a 3 inch body lift. has 4.88 gears in the rear and previous owner said all that was needed to fix 4wd is the front re geared and a driveshaft put in. it has i believe 8k headlights might swap for 6k. it does have the push 4wd with the auto 4wd so i guess that means i have auto trac. has a full steel rear bumper with the roll on bed liner stuff. might be coming off if i take body lift off. it has 20 ich kmc spy wheels with 37x13.50rx20 nitto mud grapplers. its pre wired for a brush guard with lights but im gonna have to go back through and look at the wiring as its kinda shatty and im not happy with it. and also nothing big done to engine besides big three and a k&n air filter.

 

[SunlitComet]

Exhaust will need to be moved a little. You need the "special" drive shaft and change front gear if needed. An alignment for sure. new shocks up front at least and cleanup up their mounting points of debris and such. Otherwise looking GOOD.

 

[bjballar41]

i did have an alignment done when we did the cv boot but the steering wheel has ALOT of play in it so im wondering if that caused some problems and i have no clue how to fix the play, as far as the gears what am i needing to look for as far as to change them? i know u said a kit but is there a certain kit or what? and for the shocks i guess im just gonna look into the rough country ones again assuming thats what was used before. sorry i have so many questions ive just never messed with lifted and im way out of my league

 

[SunlitComet]

Either you have a worn pitman or idler arm or you can probably use a good tightening on the steering box. For a new gear install a master kit is best it has all new bearings, seals and such. Could get lifted shocks from a few places just need to know the part numbers of current ones or if they are stock ones with extension bracket or just outright lifted type shocks. If you need SM instruction on the diffy let me know. You will need a few tools you may not have. but are easily rentable. Can you look around the diffy where the case have meet and see if you can find some codes or something. It will give you a clue as to what is in there if nothing has been changed.

 

[bjballar41]

ill see what i can find out im fixen head back down there now that its cooled off some.

 

[96ProCompTahoe]

if you have never done gears or anything along those lines it would be a good idea to let the pro's do it as i wouldn't start with a front end like ours to learn on.

x2 on the exhaust being in the way, you having an auto-trac truck, and i would bet it wasn't regeared in the front. (would be stupid to regear the front and then just not spend a couple/few hundred on a driveshaft IMO)

truck looks good BTW!

 

[bjballar41]

o im gonna have a new driveshaft and get it re geared gonna talk to my buddy who did the cv boot see if he will do it. but i guess first i gotta get that exhaust fixed wonder how much that will be. o well its only money lol i deff want it done for the winter.

 

[SunlitComet]

Remember, Special driveshaft, not stock.

 

[bjballar41]

gotcha. question tho. would a drive shaft out of another z71 tahoe not work?

 

[SunlitComet]

I doubt it your lift is 6" ask the maker of lift and they can hook you up.

 

[bjballar41]

o ok gotcha. ill get some part numbers for u in just a bit.

---------- Post added at 09:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:46 PM ----------

and where should i be looking for drive shafts all i can find are stock ones.

 

[96ProCompTahoe]

there was an auto trac thread in this section that had a link to the new shaft, OR you could just have a shop build you one. the length of the shaft isn't really the problem (i have the stock shaft in my 96 NON Autotrac) it is said to vibrate pretty bad over 35mph.

you could always lose the IFS for a straight front axle along with a 5 speed and a manual T-case would fix your auto trac problem but you'll still need a custom shaft