In many cases, an older truck's rear axle probably hasn't been serviced or serviced well. After 35 years of use and abuse, it was time to rebuild the leaky, whiny 12-bolt under my '72 C-10. Expecting the worst, plus opting for a ratio change from 3.73:1 to a more highway-friendly 3.42:1, I ordered a new Yukon Gear ring-and-pinion set, axles, the installation kit that comes with the new pinion and carrier bearings, races, seals, crush sleeve, ring gear bolts, gear marking compound, and the axle bearing and seal kit, all from Randy's Ring & Pinion. In lieu of rebuilding the old differential, I called Eaton Performance Products and ordered a posi unit for the GM 12-bolt truck rearend so I wouldn't be "that" guy with a one-tire-fryer.
My '72 is still and will be a work in progress for a while, but I've been aiming at getting it to at least the clean daily driver status. In the pursuit of this goal, I've been setting my sights on the mechanicals and trying to clean up the mess that went hand in hand with all the old neglected parts. So I decided to pull the rearend out of the truck for the rebuild, making it easier to clean it up. Knowing that I didn't have the right tools for setting up the new parts, like a magnetic base dial indicator, hydraulic press, bearing pullers, etc., I decided to take the axle over to Unitrax, which is a well-known differential and driveline shop here in Southern California. They will rebuild practically any rearend you can drop off, or you can drive your truck to the shop and they'll do it in the vehicle.
Once Unitrax got the 12-bolt torn down and all the old parts cleaned up, we could see what story the rearend was trying to tell. First off, I already knew the pinion seal and differential cover leaked, plus the ring-and-pinion was really whiny, which I initially attributed to years of previous neglect. Actually, that turned out to be an old improper pinion depth setup, but to top it off, there was already an old Eaton posi unit that didn't work and was worn out! The ring-and-pinion could have been re-used if I wanted to stay with the 3.73:1 ratio, but since I wanted the truck comfortable for the freeway and I had 225/70R15 tires, the 3.42:1 seemed like a good choice to go with the 4L60 Gear Star tranny I already installed. According to both Randy's Ring & Pinion and Unitrax's online gear calculators, the mph/rpm would be as follows: 60 mph @ 1,761 rpm, 70 mph @ 2,055 rpm and my favorite cruising speed, 80 mph @ 2,349 rpm.
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When it comes to rebuilding your truck's rearend, the first two options are to either pull it out and do it on the bench or leave it under the vehicle. This may be dictated depending on your truck's state of cleanliness or lack thereof. I was happy to pull mine out so it would get the chance to shed a few pounds of caked-on greasy dirt and hopefully look as good on the outside as the innards soon would. | 
I anticipated more work with the 12-bolt than just swapping out the third member, which is no biggie with a Ford 9-inch or any removable carrier-type axle, but an integral carrier axle is another story. Plus, I knew I didn't have all the proper tools I needed to do the job right, so I took my problems and all my parts from Randy's Ring & Pinion down the street to Unitrax in Anaheim, CA, for some help. Unitrax has been in the driveline and differential business for over two decades and knows what to do with a rearend when they see one, and they have quite the reputation for taking care of picky Viper and C-5/6 owners. |