Need Help With Ring and Gears s-10 Rear

[Fat Mike]

How do you identify what size ring gear a s-10 rearend has and what kind of gears it is running?

[raycow]

The cover on the 8.5" is perfectly round and the cover on the 7.5" is slightly oval or "squashed" looking. If you want to find the gear ratio without pulling the cover you can count it directly.

Jack one rear wheel off the ground, put the transmission in neutral, and the parking brake off. Put matching marks on the pinion yoke and differential housing. Turn the wheel exactly TWO revolutions and count how many times the driveshaft turns, estimating any fractional turn as closely as possible. That number is your axle ratio.

If the wheel is difficult or impossible to turn, you may have posi. In that case, jack both rear wheels off the ground and turn either of them only ONE revolution. Count the driveshaft turns the same way as for an open rear.

Ray

[rog540wag]

All s-10s had 7.5 ring gears from 1982-93........in 1994 and up, they went to a 7 5/8 ring gear. The only 8 1/2 ring gears were put in the high widers only and they were all 4x4s............hope this helps.

[Atomsplitter]

The 8-1/2's are easy to spot because the axel tubles are wider just as they meet the pumpkin in the middle. The 7-1/2's all have straight axel tubles.

[Fat Mike]

This is the best picture I have.

[raycow]

From the shape of the cover, that's a 7.5"

Ray

[Warrens69GMC]

100% a 7.5"