This is not promising. I was hoping to pick a locker knowing it was 7.625 and 28 spline...oh dear..

Why would using a spacer be bad?

 

On such a high stressed component, adding a spacer is never a good idea. The connection is not going to be as strong as it is when directly mounting. That and the spacer, unless machined VERY precisely, will not be flat, nor will it be as strong (material dependant) as the cast iron diff carrier.


Dug up this picture of when I serviced the rear diff on my old Bravada. Looks like the carrier is the same as the one you have, but I cannot tell if anything else is different...

 

I thought the piece I had was the carrier.

And Kyle, they look to be about 7 1/4" from outside of bearing race to outside of bearing race. Both of them.

EDIT: And your ring gear looks a LOT thicker.

 

I'm not sure that it is though...

 

No, just kidding. You're right. The spacer will be CNC machined. I know Jeg's and Summit sells them, I just didn't see anything for the 7.625 rear, only for 7.5 and 8.5's.

EDIT: I wonder if the pinion is bigger for the Bravadas? That's the only way I could see the ring gear being set back further than on my Blazer with 3.42's.

 

If I had the 7.625" I'd crack it open and take pics as well... Or at least see how it compared...

Maybe he got the year wrong?

Count the splines and make sure it's 28, not 26...

Might be a 7.5"

 

It's definitely 28 splines because I test fit my axles in it.

 

Machining alone will not make the spacer completely flat. A grind operation may have to be done to ensure that the two surfaces are completely parallel and flat. You will then probably need to have it hardened as well to eliminate the tendancy to flex. We are talking about large forces here.

You might be able to go with the 7.5" spacer... Not sure...

 

They SHOULD be the same... But I can't say for sure...

I can't see the ring gear being different between a Bravada and a regular S-Series...

Mine is different, but that should be it...

 

The bolts that hold the ring gear to the carrier that I took out of my truck are fused into the carrier itself. Can't reuse the ring gear.

Performance shop around the block has 3.08's (ring and pinion) lying around for $50. I plan on purchasing the 3.08's and having them install it since I'm already in over my head and don't have the tools available to me to set backlash and all that jazz.

My head is spinning right now so I'm not sure if I need a spacer or not. But if I do I have received confirmation that a 7.5 spacer will also work in my 7.625.

Will update ASAP. Might be carpooling for a while with the Regal I'm about to go pick up.