Brake warning ! And I might add : NOTHING goes into the hydraulic system other than brake fluid , alcohol or brake cleaner ! your LIFE depends on not doing foolish things like a Customer did : rubbed each and every rubber cup and brake part with penetrating oil before re assembling and bleeding out the system ~ he was *very* lucky in that the brakes locked up in town before he had the chance to get on the open highway and have them fail catastrophically at speed....... . What a job that was to clean it all out and re - rebuild everything .
Time to update this thread, as I know some people may be thinking of trying this swap. For replacing the original rear end, but leaving everything else stock, it was cheap and works perfect for the highway speeds. Granted, I have no working speedometer yet, but I stay up with traffic when I'm out there. At those speeds, the 228 doesn't sound close to it's limits of RPMs. I had cut off the saddles and shock mounts + brake line mount and had them welded onto the Colorado rear end. Unfortunately, I didn't think about where the spring would be in position to where I had the brake line mount welded, and it ended up right under the driver's side spring~ To solve this problem, I just got a c-clamp that fit the rear axle and hooked it up this way. The U-joint needed to hook the old drive shaft to the Colorado yoke is NAPA#447, and U-joint strap kit, #530-10. I absolutely love how this rig rolls down the road now! Well worth the $$$! If you want to run stock wheels, a 1/4 inch spacer will get them past the hub that sticks out past the drum surface.
Geez... we don't hear from you for DAYS... and when we do? You are showing off pictures of your rear end! For the 6-lug crowd, I think the Colorado rear is a near no-brainer. Not a whole lot needs to be done to make it work. AND, plenty of gear ratios to choose from. Newer ones even offer disc brakes.
Well, you know, Mike~ With a rear end that looks like mine, you find ways of getting pictures of it on the internet. Speaking of which, I took it back out on the highway last night. I was in the merge lane and I guess some SUVer saw the wheels/paint and thought "hot rod!" He suddenly blasted his vehicle to get around me and I just kinda pushed down on the gas. Seems as though I stayed up with whatever speed he was going. Again, the 228 wasn't at it's limit by any means. I was reminded that I need to put the fender stiffeners in those front fenders. (I have yet to do that...) As far as posting, just went through a week of Parent/Teacher conferences. 7-7 days. More pictures of your truck, please.
COLORADO REAR END INFORMATION TO CONSIDER: (revised 12/03/15) Turns out, the General put 2 different rear ends beneath their Colorado/Canyon/Isuzu "I" trucks (Ring Gear SIZES, not WIDTH): The AAM800 has an 8.0" ring gear, and 28 spline axles. It is found in 4- and 5-cylinder trucks from 2004-2012. VIN 8th digit 8 (2.8L L4) code LK5 2004-2006 VIN 8th digit 9 (2.9L L4) code LLV 2007-2012 VIN 8th digit 6 (3.5L L5) code L52 2004-2006 VIN 8th digit E (3.7L L5) code LLR 2007-2012 The AAM860 has an 8.6" ring gear, and 30 spline axles. It is only found in 8-cylinder trucks, and it appears to be offered in 3.73/1 ratio only. VIN 8th digit L (5.3L V8) code LH8 2009-2012 Gear ratio RPO codes (for both the 8.0 and the 8.6) 3.42 code GU6 3.73 code GT4 4.10 code GT5 Differential types G80 is a Gov-Lok (a type of positraction) (look it up for more info) _?_ is an open-diff (code coming) In a stock 216/235/228/261 (I think that's all of 'em) AD, either should be fine. If you are planning an V8 swap, and a Colorado rear end, try to find the 8.6". As a bonus there is much more aftermarket support for the 8.6". All that VIN code and engine info is to help you at the junkyard (or www.car-part.com for an online junkyard search). I will try to add dimensions to this post as well.
Right! Mine is the 2004, 3.5L L5 variety. (3.73) I love it! Drum brakes and a whopping $300.00 price tag. Cut the perches/shock mounts off of the old 3/4 ton axle and had them welded onto this one. Free, because I have an awesome welder friend who was happy to do this for me. I "creatively" hooked up the parking brakes (they had just whacked off what was there and left me about a foot of cable on each side...) and it's good to go!
.........this.......just.....in........ If you are installing a Colorado rear end in your old AD truck, and you are more the "zoom-zoom" type, Mike has found this nugget of info that might be something to ponder. The 8.6 wasn't available until 2009, and only the V8-Colorado's at that. The gear ratio is the same, butt what gave it the power is different. This could be a problem iffin that right foot of yours is made of lead, and what is under the hood ain't no piddlin straight 6.
