I own a 93 Tahoe/LT s-10 Blazer. 4.3 4x4... Anyhow, today, I pulled out the driveway and notice a thumping from underneath. Got faster with more speed. Right now, the rear is jackedup with rear wheels off the ground. Crank it up, throw it in gear and let my foot off the brake and let torque do the rest so I can check out the problem. Driveshaft is fine, or so it seems, i.e. no warpage. So I put my hand on the rear end and had the neighbor gas it, and man, does it sound bad. Felt the racket in the rear end, and have determined it to be the rear end, although it still drives. No worries, I won't drive it anywhere! Anyhow, it looks like removal will be easy as long as I take off the drive shaft, bottom shock bolts (tie theshocks out of the way), remove the back brake cables, and take the mounting bolts off the rear end. Will it twist out and drop down? I think that would be a close cut. Looks like I could also just pull through from one side or the other if I take the tires off. How much of a pain is it to remove the rear end? I am mechanically inclined, got plenty of tools, but this is my first Chevy truck. Also, do I have to stick with the gear ratio the factory put on the truck, or is there another that will help me out will gas mileage, etc.from another model? Please excuse my ignorance on this matter. I did search for a solution, but only found a thread on rear axles. All responses are greatly appreciated.

 

I will tackle one aspect of your question. Since you have 4wd you will need to stick with the stock gears unless you either want to lose your 4wd or regear your front differential.

I am about to swap rears on my truck as well (3.42s). Let me know how yours goes.

 

Thank you. Considering that I have never had to do any transmission work on a 4x4, that is something I didn't consider. I'm more curious as to how in can still drive with all that racket going on back there! I didn't notice if the U-Joint between the rear end and drive shaft was fouled up as I was inspecting from behind, and it was dusk out. I'll be looking into it more today. Still trying to figureout whether or not this thing is going to be alright to pull, or if the difficulty level is more than I've anticipated. Hope I won't have to remove the leaf springs!

UPDATE: It's taken me 45 min to get half the job done as of yet. Will post pics when I get her out. It's definitely the rear end. Gonna cost me $125 to get another from the P.Y. No need to take the springs off as the rear end will pull out from either side. Rather easy so far. The most difficult part of it looks to be removing the brake cable from the drum brakes. Guess I'll have to disassemble the mess.

 

UPDATE: I took the rest of the rear end off. Took me about 1 1/2 total hrs. to do. It was a sinch. Found out how to bleed the back brakes in the process. Here's some pic links...

http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y37...t=100_6902.jpg
http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y37...100_6906-1.jpg
http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y37...100_6905-1.jpg
http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y37...100_6906-1.jpg

 

Looks like you have got a handle on things!

 

Yeah, I wasn't going to wait on too many replies as there weren't many except for yours... Guess things are different in my other car club for 300ZX owners...

 

UPDATE: Got the job done! TBB, you wanted to know how it went. It went smoothly. My second time around pulling the rear from a Truck in the PY was even quicker. 45 minutes tops. Got it back to the house, and installed it. Installing always takes longer than usual, to ensure proper function, but is worth taking time to do. I dismantled the drum brakes, cleaned parts, and when I reassembled, I was sure to grease and moving parts in the drum brakes. Went ahead and put new gear oil in it, and bled the brakes. Had to engage the Ebrake before I actually got somewhere in bleeding them. Brakes are still a lil spongy, but will take care of that when I am able. Also nabbed a beauty ring for the full sized spare tire rim, and a low profile bug guard for the front. SWEET! Will post pics later. She runs great! Looks like the newer Blazers should pull as easily as well. I did have a look see to verify.