Sorry for the lame question, in advance. But my 86 22re with 33" tires was super slow, so I went and bought 5.29 pinion set and had it installed on the rear. IThe mechanich had no interest in touching the front. I am being told, I cannot put it in 4wheel until I put 5.29's in the front also, is this true? If so, is the front on an 86 xtra cab 4x4 7.5", or 8"? I have heard both. Also do I have to search for anything special, like reversed? Or specially for front? Thank you. Also, should I just be searching for a whole unit that is already installed? I have had several people tell me they would only do it if I bring just the third to them. Is is that hard to get to and change them? What would I expect to pay to have someone do the whole job for front only? Thanks again, Sorry for the beginner question.

 

no you wont beable to use 4wd untill your gears match. im sure you could find a whole front ifs with 5.29s but i dont think it would be common to come by

 

technically you could use 4wd before gearing the front, you'll just blow up your t-case

did the guy say why he wouldn't touch the front end? tell him to quit being a wuss and get it done!

 

I would look for a solid axle. What would you spend to have gears installed up front? Put that towards and axle and sell IFS parts.

You have an 7.5" diff up front. I believe Yukon makes gears for your front.

 

If only it worked out nice and simple like that an SAS is more than simply putting a solid axle in the front.

 

Cool thanks guys! I will try and buy a new 3rd member, and set it up with the 5.29's, then hopefully swap em out soon. Thanks again, for your help. This forum is great, for a shlub like me! haha

 

Oh yeah, when shopping for 7.5" front 5.29's do I need reverse cut or regular? Hope that makes sense.

 

i'm probly wrong but i think reverse cut is driverside drop

 

You need regular.
I see you're in AZ. Are you near Phoenix? Get ahold of ZUK. He is a member here and here is a link to his website.
http://www.gearinstalls.com/
He is the diff and gear guru and can tell you exactly what you need. He can probably get you the gears you need and likely install for you as well. Cost will be between you and him. If you're interested I have my old 3rd laying in the side yard that you can have for $25 bucks. That would cut down on downtime, get it set up and ready then just a straight swap out of diffs.
Link to my ad. https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f11/...-parts-177684/
Never mind the $50 price in the ad.

 

no foolin, huh? haha bwaah, a little welding, a leaf spring or 2 and your off!

I was just saying if thats what he going for in the future, don't waste money modding something temporarily only to lose a big percentage of that money later. Do it the way you want the first time. opinion only