Rear diff swap?

Hey everyone my rear diff is pretty rusted not leaking but it just looks rough and the dealership said most of my e brake cables and adjustments are seized up pretty good so I was looking at maybe just trying to find a cleaner diff to swap it out but was wondering what years and models I could use. My truck is a 2005 DC 4wd I believe its a 3.91 and it does have the Auto LSD feature if that matters. Not sure if access cab diffs could work or if the different models had different widths or anything like that. Any info would be great thanks

 

You're pretty much stuck with finding another DC, since the axle width on AC and RC are dissimilar from DC. And Sequoia, its closest relative has rear discs.

As for years, not sure. I'm also not 100% certain whether the traction control system will play nice with a non-LSD rear; that's a question for someone more savvy than I.

Whatever you get, the gear ratio needs to match the front gearbox. To that point, maybe just hunt the axle housing and swap everything over. More work, less guesswork.

 

I just replaced my 3rd member a week ago because it it blew up doing donuts in the dunes lol
I had trouble finding the correct 3rd member with the correct gear ratio and lsd mechanism for a decent price so I was going to get the entire axle with the drum brakes which I found plenty of options just input your truck into onto your eBay account and it’ll search specifically for diffs that fit your truck
https://www.ebay.com/itm/4042788371...ryxunhpqhi&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

Reviving I’m still on the hunt for a rear axle but I was wondering if I plan on re gearing and putting my own locker in I’m guessing I could also just find a 2wd axle am I right in thinking this? Obviously I would re gear the front

 

You could get just a DC axle housing and use 2wd and/or 4wd 3rd member from an RC/AC. (Note: you may have to swap pinion flange)


OR a get a sequoia 3rd & front diff for 4.10's. The '04 DC also has 4.10's.

 

Thanks for the info I might go that route of buying an empty housing and rebuilding it. What year Sequoia front diffs with the 4.10's would work do you know? Thanks

 

All the same iirc. 00-07.

 

Thanks! And do you know if its a direct swap into our trucks?

 

Front diff and rear 3rd member should, rear housing will not. May require a pinion flange swap, depending on model & options.

I've used both an 04 DC and a Sequoia rear 3rd member in my 05 AC. Just had to swap pinion flanges.

 

Ive found a clean complete rear axle off a DC for a decent price finally but its a 2wd the owner says it has a 3.91 ratio which is the same as my 4wd but could that be correct? I thought the 2wd had a different ratio this is the axle code A01B? if it is the same ratio any issues swapping a 2wd rear axle in place of mine a 4wd one? thanks

 

They are ever so slightly different. One is closer to 3.91 and the other to 3.92.

I'd just swap the center 3rd member. The housing and axles are the same iirc.

 

Thought I would update I finally found the exact axle I needed at a salvage yard only 15 mins from my house I lucked out! I went ahead installed it this weekend and everything is working great. Now im thinking for the future but I might want to re gear and put a locker in. Im currently running 285's with a 3.91 ratio and im thinking 4.10's would be perfect for this setup but might try and do 35's in the future and was wondering what everyone is re gearing to and what tire size? Here's a pic of the axle I cleaned it up and painted with some Eastwoods to help prevent any rust in the future.

 

I'm almost at the end of welding on the rear diff cover myself. Mine looked quite bad and my backing plates were quite rotted as well.

I'm almost done putting everything back together, except the tool I bought to remove the abs rings blew apart and destroyed my ring.

 

285/70-16 and a v8?..if so then the bare minimum i would install is a 4.30...and that's if i found a used front diff and rear 3rd that already had that gearing. If were buying new gears AND a locker, no doubt i would install 4.56 with 33" tires. 35" tires i would toss in some 4.88.

 

I have 285-70-17 and you think that geared down at 70 mph right now im between 2000 and 2100 rpm I feel with 4.30's that would put me at like 2500 at 70mph

 

you could go 4.10 if you really wanted. If so, then i wouldn’t recommend to tow anything whatsoever, don’t put anything in the bed of your truck, don’t let any other passengers inside the truck with you (including a dog or lady friend), and don’t carry more than a paper bag full of ramen noodles. Also it would be best to live near sea level and never drive through hilly country. Plan to install lighter weight P-rated tires. LT tires are going to be much heavier. No additional armor should be added to the truck either. No rocker nerfs, bumpers, skid plates, winch, ect.

I would still do a bare minimum of 4.30. Some of the earlier 4.7 AC’s came with 245/70-16 as an optional tire size (and all AC’s had 3.9 gears). If you had the 265/70-16 tires, they would pair well with 4.10. But jumping up to a much larger 285/70-17, then you also have to overcome the extra weigh of the tire PLUS the extra road rolling resistance and the extra headwind from your truck being taller...especially at 70mph. So yeah, bare minimum 4.30 gear if you found them super cheap. Otherwise i’d install 4.56.

Yes, we’ve all heard stories of guys with jacked up truck running 44” tires and 2.73 gears.

 

4.88 or bust!

 

Now we’re talkin! I had 4.56 gears in my 6cy CJ7 with a 5 speed and 32” tires. It was spot on for my needs. My other CJ7 with a 5 speed (and a GM Ramjet 350) has 4.88 with 33” tires for street and 37” tire for offroad. My 4cyl YJ 5 speed has 5.13 and 32” tires. My 2004 4.7 tundra has 4.10 and 265/75-16 tires. I’d prefer to go lower, but i got the 4.10 3rd member and front diff for dirt cheap. If buying new and if i were to install a locker, i might have sprung for 4.30, but probably i would have leaned more towards a 4.56.

 

I’ve never done any of that, but this winter I’m planning to do 4.88 and a e locker, it’s all in the parts pile, just waiting to make it happen

 

295/70/18 70 puts me about 2400 rpm with 4.88

 

I have 265/75/16s on my 2000 with the 4 speed and 3.91 rear end. Towed a 7000# camper with it through the hills of Arkansas. If I jumped up to 285/75/16s, I would regear to 4.30 or 4.56 if I planned to tow. But could probably get away with the factory 3.91s like almost everyone else running 33” tires does.