Ok I finely opened up my sub rear end and Wow what a mess the side gears which the axles fit on are striped, ring gearand pinion look fair, but I don't trust them. the pin which goes through the two other gears is bent with one gear stuck on it at 40 degree angle the retaning bolt is bent the fourth gear is shattered, and the carrier housing( I think thats what it's called is broken in two places. Now two the point I think that the bolt backed out and caused the mess but a friend of mine (a ford fan go figure) says that a 10 bolt 3.73 8.5 rear end is way under sized for a vehical of this size he says he has replaced a lot of bearings and rear ends in this type of suburban (88 1/2 ton) personaly I think he's been inhailing to much ford exhaust what's the true story, I've always wanted a sububan should I rebuild or replace with factory rear end or should I use my 1980 1 ton 4x4 as a parts rig??? I don't go of road a lot but most of the roads including my own street is unpaved around here my pick up is fine and it has a 12 bolt??? can anybody give me a little help?
Chances are yours was abused or someone didn't torque something properly. Unless your Burb has a built motor or large tires, a 10b should be fine, but I believe the 12b was slightly stronger. 1 tons would be a little overkill if your truck is stock, but since you already have a matching set there's no reason not to. The only thing you have to do is move the spring pads on the rear.
thanks for the feed back I'm still pissed, after only having the thing for two months when it blew but this does help I do know that I will also have to change the steering box but the one ton is a rebuilt I put in last year now I need wheels or fender extentions for a dually1 ton If it's not one thing it's another
