So once again, the title says it ALL. There were hardly any warning signs and I'm agitated so please bear with me y'all!

I went to lunch today and as i accelerated off the Jobsite I noticed a ticking that got progressively worse to the way to McDonalds and back. When i got back, it really got loud, almost a clanking sound. I got out several times to try and find something rubbing a wheel, the driveshaft or ANYTHING! I Couldn't find the source, it sounded like it was coming from my the middlenof my truck so I immediately thought u joints.... to make a long story short, I had a buddy of mine (who knows quite a bit about 4WDs) come over and listen/look as i drove by. He assumemed the same thing, I wasn't trying to hear that!

Well, me being the daredevil I am decided to punch it one time to see if the drive shaft would break off and i could change it there.... reason being, my license is suspended and didn't want it breaking going down the interstate at 70mph infront of a "popo". Come to find out, not the driveshaft.... definitely something in the differential because it immediately locked up and would have to "break through" a gear (or SOMETHING) to keep moving. You could see it tugging on the rear axle.

So i say all of that to ask this.... will any complete axle fit on my truck if its a 2nd Gen? Does it HAVE to be a 4x4 axle? Or am I better off trying to rebuild the diff? I found one on craigslist, around my area off a 2001 Blazer that is a 4wd - he's asking 250 obo. I need some help and answers quick everyone, I try to help as much as possible on this forum and throw ideas out there.... I really need some input on this one! I don't feel comfortable replacing all the gears and such in the diff, plus I doubt I have the skills, tools and knowlodge to do so! Will this 01's work? Would like to buy it TODAY if so.....

Thanks in advance to any replies and may God help my Blaze!!!!

 

Buy one from salvage. 4x4 diffs are a few inches longer then 2wd. Any 2nd gen blazer diffs should fit,if you have drum brakes make sure the new one has drums etc etc.

 

Like Chris said above, any 4x4 axle from a 2nd gen will work since they're all the same size except the ZR2, which are 3.9" wider than the standard 4x4. It is possible to upgrade from the drum brakes to the disc with a bit of work. I did it on my '96 and really like the upgrade. I'm pretty sure that my drums were not working properly cause my brakes grab way better now. Be sure that you find an axle with the same gears as yours was, unless you're planning on changing the front differential as well.

 

Someone told me one time that 4x4 1st gens rear diff will work on 2nd gen 4x4 blazers. Not sure if its true. Id like to know. Id love to snag a 3.73 bravada rearend thats at my local yard.

 

man when my rear gos i wanna snug a g80 in my truck =P i hope its possible


not that i want my rear to go any time soon KNOCK ON WOOD

 

So wait... the one I found has disk brakes?? Not possible to put my drum brakes on it?! He said he'd let me get it for 200 and it only has 80,000 miles on it. I DO NOT have the money to do the upgrade to disk brakes, already looked into it and I need a new master cylinder (which I JUST replaced), etc... it's out of the question. He said he'll sell me the axle without the brake calipers on it for 200! With them, 250!

 

To move your drums to the new axle you're going to have to pull both axles out to mount the drums to the backing plate from the donor axles. When I did my axle swap I didn't change the master cylinder or anything other than the brake lines. I just changed the fluid and bled the brake lines well. Everything works great. Here's a how to from S10forum.com. They also stated that using the stock master cylinder and proportioning valve works fine with the disk brakes. The only other thing you'll have to change or modify is your e-brake cable. The ends are different on the discs so you'll have to either modify yours, or purchase a new cable. I'm not a mechanic, and there may be reasons why this isn't a good idea, but for me it works, especially since I don't have the money to change more parts right now.

 

SOOOO.... what your saying is as long as the gear ratio matches mine, all I need is JUST the differential? Therefor I can just take the axles (with the drums) off my current truck and put them "in" the "new" diff???

 

Possibly... I've never done that. From looking at the thread from S10forum.com it looks like there might be a difference in length or thickness of the backing plate between the drum brake axle and the disc brake axle. If read down the thread a bit (post #29ish) it talks about the difference. Hopefully someone else has experience with doing this, or maybe you can talk to a shop or mechanic that does this type of work.

I think it would be a ton easier to just upgrade to the disc brakes. That's just my 2 bits.

 

GET 4.11 GEARS!!!!!!

The reason your rear end blew is because your tires are too big. It happened to me.

Get a matching set 2nd gen set from a junkyard.