need front IFS diff with 3.73

[arctic388]

1996 Tahoe

I had my rear end gears swapped to 3.73 and absolutely love the new feel while driving it. i had 3.42 and with 260K miles it was a turtle.

my question is how rare is it to have 3.73 from the factory in a front diff to fit my '96? I want to find a unit from a junk yard instead of rebuilding what i have if possible.

*i know the best thing would be to rebuild but in my area finding a shop to do it well and at a decent price is impossible. the place that did my rear end quoted me $400 to do it (i provided the eaton truetrack and bearings/races) then when tallying the bill he said $620 and we settled on $520.00. plus it took them 4 weeks to get it done. needless to say i will not go back to them for various reasons.

 

[SunlitComet]

more likely to find the 3.42 but doe not mean they don't exist. the vehicle setups ordered for dealers stock were just commonly 3.42 for economy reasons for the most part.

 

[arctic388]

I have been trying to find the RPO code for 3.73 and cant find one. that is my luck. I will probably just have to look in a different town for someone to rebuild the one i have to 3.73.

 

[SunlitComet]

Try the Craigslist sites in the states where there is a lot of agriculture work.

 

[arctic388]

can you confirm what year range front diff will work in my '96?

 

[SunlitComet]

I think 1993 when it went from blazer to tahoe and even the 2002's are using the same axle only difference between them really is the actuator installed. that is ten years to look in to. You are looking for a 8.25 inch selectable 4wd axle with a 3.73 gear ratio.

---------- Post added at 11:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:13 AM ----------

the rpo on the vehicle would be GT4.

 

[arctic388]

thanks, i have found a 94 Silverado that supposed to have 3.73. I am asking now how many miles and how much they are asking for it.