[s-10again!]

im looking for a rear end with a 3.08 to 1 ratio or maybe even less, rear differential for an s-10. does anybody know of vehicles with any narrow rear differential that had that gear that i should be scouring the bone yard for? it has to hold up to mild sbc build.

[gearheadslife]

why not the one under the truck

[big gear head]

If this is a 2 wheel drive S10 and you need something stronger than the 7.5 rear end then your only choice is a rear end from a 2 wheel drive with the 4.3 and a 5 speed. Some of them got the 8.5 rear end, but they are kind of rare. There is no other production rear end that is as narrow as this, so looking for something else would be a waste of time.

[gearheadslife]

Originally Posted by big gear head

If this is a 2 wheel drive S10 and you need something stronger than the 7.5 rear end then your only choice is a rear end from a 2 wheel drive with the 4.3 and a 5 speed. Some of them got the 8.5 rear end, but they are kind of rare. There is no other production rear end that is as narrow as this, so looking for something else would be a waste of time.

sorry,, the ford ranger 8.8 is almost a bolt in for the s-10..

maybe no gm alxe that narrow

[frankdelrees]

Originally Posted by s-10again!

im looking for a rear end with a 3.08 to 1 ratio or maybe even less, rear differential for an s-10. does anybody know of vehicles with any narrow rear differential that had that gear that i should be scouring the bone yard for? it has to hold up to mild sbc build.

I think I have one for $200 that did come out of an S-10. You would have to rebuild the brakes.I believe I have a second one that I was going to put under a '32 Chev I have, but the S=10 is actually too narrow for the '32 and I have another 10 bolt that is just right for the'32.One S-10 has the spring pads cut off. your choice. frankdelrees@aol.com.

[big gear head]

Originally Posted by gearheadslife

sorry,, the ford ranger 8.8 is almost a bolt in for the s-10..

maybe no gm alxe that narrow

Doesn't the Ranger rear end have a lot of pinion offset? The S10 rear end only has 1/2 inch offset. I know a lot of S10 guys use the Explorer rear end and they cut the long side down to the same length as the short side and use 2 of the short axles to make it work.

[gearheadslife]

Originally Posted by big gear head

Doesn't the Ranger rear end have a lot of pinion offset? The S10 rear end only has 1/2 inch offset. I know a lot of S10 guys use the Explorer rear end and they cut the long side down to the same length as the short side and use 2 of the short axles to make it work.

not the 2wd rangers

[big gear head]

I wonder why those guys go to all of the trouble to modify the Explorer rear ends when the Ranger rear end would be so much easier. I know that the Ranger has some pinion offset because they have a long and a short axle too. The Ranger short axle is the same length as the FOX mustang axles.

[gearheadslife]

Originally Posted by big gear head

I wonder why those guys go to all of the trouble to modify the Explorer rear ends when the Ranger rear end would be so much easier. I know that the Ranger has some pinion offset because they have a long and a short axle too. The Ranger short axle is the same length as the FOX mustang axles.

well up here finding a 2wd one is hard..
I know we didn't cut the housing, can't remember how off center the pinion was.. it's been a good 8 years ago

[s-10again!]

Originally Posted by gearheadslife

why not the one under the truck

the existing rearend has the wrong ratio and pretty much never does bolth tires spin unless you get it sideways and loose. other than that its a candidate for rebuild.

[big gear head]

All of the GM trucks with the limited slip G80 differential got the Governor Lock differential. This thing is so weak that they are only good for a stock truck with stock tires, and then they still break. Usually the gear on the governor is all that breaks, which makes it work like a standard differential. Upgrading to the Eaton Posi is the way to go for a high performance GM truck.

[s-10again!]

thank you for the heads up. so it would be wise to build up the rear dif that i have now properly? i am not opposed to that.

[big gear head]

Put in a new Eaton Posi and new bearings. If you have a '89 or older rear end then it will have 26 spline axles. You can upgrade it to 28 spline axles, which is what I recommend. If you have a '90 or later then it should already have the 28 spline axles. This is assuming that you have the 7.5 rear end.

[Adam65]

The Rangers & Mustangs got the 28 spline 8.8 rear. The Explorers are 31 splines and many have factory disc brakes.

[s-10again!]

thank you for the replys. Would a reaf diff from a 4X4 99 blazer work well? I have one. my dad has a 2002 s-10 and it has had many rear dif problems and a bunch of the bearings and seals which constantly go bad, are mitsubishi parts. i want to stay away from that.