I have a 99 ZR2 blazer. Last winter I noticed my rear diff wasn't locking when i was stuck in a big snow drift in my driveway. I even tested it with one of my rear tires off the ground, so I' know it's not working. I've procrastinated all summer, but now I want to see if i can get it working before we get snow this year (which will be soon). I haven't opened it up or anything yet. I did a little searching and it looks like it could be a few things. Are there any common thing that go wrong with the G80, that are easily fixed? Can it be fixed by the average do it yourself-er? I think you pretty much need the know how and special tools with these, right? I'm sure it's going to be expensive to replace or fix, so maybe I'll just call it an open diff from now on. Thanks for any info.

 

Well i jacked one tire off the ground today and put it in gear. I can hear it locking in, but it's like the tire on the ground is barely getting any power. Seems like a clutch issue to me. Anyone know if these are replaceable. I've looked for rebuild kits on the internet, but all I find is forum threads of people asking if there is a rebuild kit. Anybody have any info on this? Anyone, anyone?

 

It sure sounds like your clutches are worn out. I believe the parts are available, but for the cost, most people ditch the stock G80 and get an aftermarket diff. What a lot of people do is buy an open carrier and throw in a powertrax 'lunch box' type locker.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. As for an open carrier... what one do I need? would one out of a non-ZR2 s10 truck or blazer work? I think i read somewhere that 99 and up has a 8.6 10 bolt I think. Would I just have to make sure its an 8.6 10 bolt carrier? What about gear lashing, would I have to worry about that? thanks

 

You have the 7.625" rear diff.

You will have to basically completely reset the lash on the gear set by shifting around the shims. You might as well do a full rebuild.