Towed a full size chevy out of a snow bank tonight in low range 4wd.

After 4 tries got him out,and immediately after had a grinding/whining noise coming the front diff, very loud....sound goes away completely when put into 2wd at the t-case. Pinion seal is leaking, and lots of play in the shaft.

I drove the truck,stubbornly, for about 8 miles in 4wd with the diff noise (snowstorm here). Am I gonna need all new gears in the axle, or what do you guys think?

 

All you can do is open it up and see how bad it is.

 

It certainly feels bad - think I will look for a complete assembled 3rd to swap out...

 

Hey guys I'm trying to decode the diff from the vin plate but don't see the letter number code ...

could someone help me out as to what type of assembled 3rd I should be looking for ? Can I swap a V6 diff?

 

It's been awhile for me, but I thought you could access the pinion bearing without taking the differential out. No? I know you can replace the pinion nut and seal just dropping the driveshaft. But not the bearing?

 

Q&A.
8", that matches your gear ratio.
Yes, That is my understanding.

This link is the clearest information page I've seen.. I liked they are linked cause I get lazy.

This link, also pretty clear and includes the decoding chart.

This link, is very clear also, has images of the tags, and the chart.

 

Thanks I saw all those links , but my door plate seems to be lacking the axle codes ? I know it's the 8" 4 cylinder from searching but need gear ratio ...

 

your best bet is to pull the third, count ring gear and divide by the pinion count.
who knows what thirds someone may have put in there in the last 35 years even what appears to be a stock truck

you could have chipped the ring gear.. with the description you are giving I would take the 45-60 minutes to pull the third for ease of mind

 

saw them sure, but did you read any of them

It's on the firewall plate

 

yep .. ^ fire wall plate has the gear code

 

Thanks guys , found the firewall plate and it has the gear code !