if you plan on taking the shafts out, get new seals no matter what. cause who knows what will happen and they really arent that expensive. taking the two part shaft out is kinda a pain in the as*, but doable. but when u put the new seals in, just make sure they are in straight and be careful not to damage the new seals when putting in the shafts. there really is no easy way that i know of just be careful. but as far as i know, switching the dif in and out should be pretty easy. it should just be swap in and out. but just putting in the inion just make sure it is a tight fit but not to tight and no play in the pinion. it should come with a shim kit. usually when you do dif swaps you can get a master rebuild kit which is all the bearings, seals and shims you will need

 

ems offroad hubs

one thing i have going for me might be the ems CAD delete kit. the two piece shaft will now be 1 piece. i did a couple of old GM front ends, the short side was easy to get in, the long side took some patience. never knew about replacing seals, 10 yr old or more truck, and didn't leak. will do on this truck though.
jon

 

I am looking to do the same, but i have never tore into an axel before nor do i know where i should get the gears. any tips would be great.

 

man... 4.10s front and rear?????
if so that would be great if i could put 'em in my axles on my '00

 

Did you drive a Cummins with 4.10s? They are absolutely terrible, thats why I sold my 12valve. When you leave off the accellerator you can really feel that the truck is gear bound. Fuel mileage is terrible with them unless you stay under 45mph. The 3.55's are a great combo with the Cummins. I know a kid that has 3.33's in his truck and thats how a truck should be.

 

ive got 3.55s front and rear in an 47re truck. great for highway (cruising around 80 and tacking 1800 rpms or a little less) but around town theyre HORRIBLE! and they stress the hell out of the drive line. id shoot for 3.90s or 3.73s for you man

 

Doing gears isn't easy, ive done alot. Once you get a new ring and pinion you will need to get a master kit for both axles to setup properly. You will also need a dial indicator. Also remember to break them in, even used gears. I recamend finding a friend that has done gears before to help you.

 

i bought my truck last week in NC, 300 miles away. real redneck-it had custom 6" chrome stacks tied into the 3" pipes, no muffler, 36" super swampers (4.10's) on 16.5" rims & lot's of stickers. what a miserable 300 miles it was. i couldn't imagine someone wanting to drive this truck w/those tires. not balanced well at all, louder than the exhaust, i couldn't hear my cell phone ring or barely talk on it. bouncy. the next morning i checked to see if i had a flat tire, felt like four flats till they warmed up 4 miles later. i installed a MBRP 4" turbo back on thursday, my new rims and BF Goodrich longtrail t/a 245's will be here mid week, the truck is parked till then.
i live in N VA and maintain the home of a politician and an estate nearby in a wealthy suburb of D.C. did i feel awkward driving up w/this truck on Wednesday, nothing inconspicuous about it. what's stupid, w/all he did to it, it has no extra power, it's just show w/no go. someone want some 16.5 american racing outlaw II rims and a set of swampers that still have a few miles on them?
jon