Changing rear end '96 suburban

[whutdidyousay@yahoo.com]

I'm looking at a '96 suburban that has a whining in the rear end. It comes with a replacement rear end. How do I identify that it's the correct one... also is it an easy swap like on an older truck? will I need to get the truck aligned afterwards? Thanks!

[95CTburb19]

Well you need to make sure that the gears are the same as the one that's in the truck now unless it is 2wd. I don't think you will need to get it aligned afterward.

[whutdidyousay@yahoo.com]

How do I go about checking that? Do I need to take the covers off and measure something? or will it be stamped somewhere?

[95CTburb19]

I wish I could tell you. Hopefully someone will chime in. In order to find the ratio of the rear end currently in the truck (assuming it's the original) You can look in the glovebox and there is a series of letter/number combinations. If you type in Chevrolet RPO codes on google you will get a bunch of sites that will list what each code stands for. Here's a few for the rear end.
GQ1 -- AXLE REAR, STD RATIO
GT4 -- AXLE REAR, 3.73 RATIO
GT5 -- AXLE REAR, 4.10 RATIO
GU4 -- AXLE REAR, 3.08 RATIO
GU5 -- AXLE REAR, 3.23 RATIO
GU6 -- AXLE REAR, 3.42 RATIO
G80 -- AXLE REAR, LIMITED SLIP (POSITRACTION)

[retired]

The gear ratio is stamped on the ring gear.

[shannonrieck]

I have a 97 Sub and just had the bearings replaced on the pinion less than 1000 miles ago. And I now have more rearend problems, bad noise and the smell of burnt lube. I had a mechanic put the bearings in. He said the front seal probaly went out and starved the bearings of oil. It has about 190k and is a 4x4 with 3.73 gear ratio. If I had a place to work on it, I might try to pull it out myself, and then either get one from a salvage yard or take it to a shop that would rebuild the whole thing??? Any suggestions??

[JMoney02]

The gear ratio is stamped on the ring gear.

Also, there is a serial number stamped on it, somewhere on the housing(close to the pumpkin on a smooth surface), you can take that number to the dealer and they can cross reference it to what Model(s)/Years it fit and you can have an idea of what it came off of. When opening the cover to check ratio, change fluid as long as your there....

Jeff