so i got an 85 s10 and i was wondering what kind of rear end i had... i want to get posi in the back. i think its the 7.75" 27 spline and unsure of the gears
...its 4wd and had the 4.3 engine... thanks to the useful people...

so i got an 85 s10 and i was wondering what kind of rear end i had... i want to get posi in the back. i think its the 7.75" 27 spline and unsure of the gears
...its 4wd and had the 4.3 engine... thanks to the useful people...

none of this is correct....88 was the first year for the 4.3, axle choices are 7.5 and 7.625 with 26 and 28 splines respectively. look at the code in the glove box for the ratio or pull the cover on the rearend, find out what you have and get a drop in locker.

you'll have to check all the RPO codes in the glove box. They each mean a different thing, and I don't know which one has anything to do with the rear axle......so, you'll have to check em all. There is a list somewhere on the interenet that will translate what the codes mean.

well snoops u were right... it did had the 2.8 in it... the guy that i bought it from said it had the 4.3 in it... it has a 350 now... the glove box told me it has 3.42 gears... now how do i find out if it has the 7.5" or the 7.625" rear end...

doesnt really matter cause you are gonna blow it up anyway. especially with a 350.

i have personally seen 2 carriers cracked in half from a weak 4.3. I would start upgrading your axles before i looked at lockers.

any suggestions on what kind of axle... such as a camaro rear axle or what... thanks

if its the original axle it would be a smaller shaft 26 spline. basically junk. I blew the ring gear in a 7.625 with a stock 4.3 and 30" tires, broke the cross pin with 31" tires on my blazer. a camaro comes with basically the same strength rearend, a lot of parts are interchangeable. if your actually going to wheel it just do a complete swap front and rear (sas) with some 1/2 ton axles like D44 front and 9" rear, or something similar, otherwise your just wasting your time and effort.

I put 28 sp. Superior axels and a SLP take out Zexel diff. in my V-8 S-10. Beat the shiot out of it. No breakie.

In the 82-93 range, they only used the 7-5/8" and 28-spline on the 4.3L S10s.... The 4cyl and 2.8L got the 7.5" and 26 spline.

Dont forget to replace the front gears as well if you do the front.

ford explorer rear 8.8 axle can hadle the abuse and its only about 2" narrower

is the lug pattern the same as the s10 axle...