No Posi, want to add one, no re-gearing, Need advise

willyr1er · January 15, 2016

Ok I need to pointed in the right direction. I have a 14' 5.3, 2wd, 9.5 12 bolt with 3.08 open diff. and I want to add a posi so I am not getting stuck in my yard when it rains. Its more like a small swamp with neighbors having ponds on both sides of me that over flow.

Can I swap my open carrier to the OEM G80 easily? I am fine with 3.08 gears since I only tow my bike to the track a few times a year for track days and very happy with my truck as-is, minus the 1 wheel spin in the mud.

Would it be easier to swap the whole rear end to one that already has one? Are complete rearends even swappable? I have seen some from the 4.3 v6 trucks with posi for sale and dont even know if that is an option.

I have read the other treads on re-gearing and adding a posi, but not finding anything on just a carrier swap.

Also want to add that I do not go off-roading and this my daily driver.

Txjose · January 15, 2016

You should be able to find one. The V6 guys have it easy because they have the same rear end as previous years. If you find an entire rear end tou may get a gear upgrade while you are at it. If you are looking at a junked/recked truck to pull the locker out of then juat check the RPO codes in the upper glove box for G80 and take the whole assembly.

foo.c · January 15, 2016

I'd just swap the whole thing if the price wasn't that much different. I'm assuming all the ABS sensors and what not is the same though.

07Softail · January 15, 2016

Carrier swap is the easiest... the V6 trucks have the smaller 8.6 axle assemblies.

RT

willyr1er · January 16, 2016

Thanks for the help. Looking at just the carrier, it's cheaper than any complete rear end I have found. $300 range for the carrier vs $1000 for complete rear end.

Carrier Part Number: 23126913

Will I need any others parts? Anything non reusable?

07Softail · January 16, 2016

Carrier bearings for sure and maybe a shim pack but I doubt it.

RT

Txjose · January 16, 2016

Carrier bearings for sure and maybe a shim pack but I doubt it.

RT

how about a master install kit....just to have new gaskets.

07Softail · January 16, 2016

you can reuse the Cover gasket.

RT

Txjose · January 16, 2016

you can reuse the Cover gasket.

RT

Just to have a new one..... I would do that anyway [emoji1]

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willyr1er · January 17, 2016

Cool, I'm liking this feedback!

Should this pretty much be a drop in swap, since I'm not touching the pinion gear and reusing the current 3.08 gear too? I would just need to make sure the gear ring is sitting in the same location, left/right, if I am thinking this through correctly.

I was thinking of measuring the play between the pinion and gear with a drop indicator and the left and right distance to housing with calipers, record and then replicate when putting the new carrier in.

Are the gear ring bolts fine to reuse?

I will get a new gasket for the cover, I never have good luck reusing gaskets.

Anyone know If I need to replace the pinion shaft? Looking at the diagram I posted prior, item 8 list two different pinion shafts, 1 w/ limited slip and 1 w/o limited slip. I'm scratching my head on this one?

muddkatt · January 17, 2016

Order the one for the limited slip. You can compare the two once you have it apart and should be able to see the differences. I don't know what the difference is, but with different part numbers, prices, and the description, they are different.

07Softail · January 17, 2016

Here is what you need to do... First clean the ring gear before removing and put some marking compound on the ring gear and make a couple of passes to establish the pattern. 2nd remove carrier and install new carrier and ring gear noting the carrier shims left and right and in another spot add marking compound and try to duplicate pattern from the original pattern. Done

RT

Willshire · January 19, 2016

Is it still .006" backlash?

willyr1er · April 15, 2016

Just want to thank everyone for their input. It took me a little while to get the parts ordered and finally got a good weekend to do the install.

The swap was a great success!

A few things I wanted to point out, for anyone else.

1- the seals on the axles were really tight, I had issues trying to push them in to remove the c-clips, and the same for pulling them out of the carrier. A second person really was a big help in pushing and pulling

2- removing the ring gear from the open diff carrier was a painful and slow using a mallet to walk it down, maybe heat would have helped. Loading it back on to the new G80 was not as bad since I did heat it prior to the install

3- I had no issues with reusing the stock gasket, no leaks