danzel

swapping rear gear set is not an easy job, so i took it to shop and let my mechanic do it, it tooks an hour to replace coz i had some additional parts put in like this Chevrolet Pickup Ring & Pinion Gear Set that i need to reaplace in too...as with my mechanic he charge me $2,000 for all the parts he'd replaced, he gave me discount on it cuz all the parts he used, i bought it in their shop too..

ZX1100F1

$2,000?? Sounds pricey to me; other than that I can't make out what else you are talking about.

73shark

Sounds like he just didn't use enuf parts since he gets a bigger discount with the more parts he uses.

ZX1100F1

I must have got his cuz and coz mixed up in there but it was a good thing that they swapped out the Chevrolet Ring and Pinion Gear Set while they had it apart changing the ratios...damn good thing bro.

kpanza

Whoa, sounds like someone got bent over...

But back to the question - you should be able to get front and rear gears (ring & pinions, install kits) for somewhere around $500 or so (check around places like Randys R&P, Reider Racing, etc). Labor is usually a little more than that...I just had my front and rear gears swapped out to 5.38s in my 4x4 (1987 K5), with all new gears, install kits (bearings, seals, etc), including labor, for just over $1000 (and this was for 1 ton stuff - Dana 60 and 14 bolt).I wuld think little 1/2 ton stuff we use on Tahoes would be cheaper, especially since4.10s are a dime a dozen ratio.Yes, the IFS front end on your Tahoe will require a bit more effort to work on, but you should be well under $2000 in my opinion.

Check around, usually a shop will give a slight discount for buying all the parts and doing the labor all at once...but you can probably find a good deal on the gears on the internet, then find a shop or local mechanic to do the install. Whatever you do, unless you are absolutely determined to have everything under warranty, don't let a stealership do it - their rates are sky high!

BlackBeauty

Has anyone done this? I got 3.42 gears and would like to go to the 3.73 gears at least, it gives an extra 1000lbs pulling....Zx, I have a 2wd LS, what would I ask the dealer for? Would this still be covered under the warranty if the dealer did the work?

ZX1100F1

Go for the 4.10's, just ask the dealer to swap out the rear gear set.
Just changing one ratio is barely noticeable and you will more then likely feel jipped in the end, trust me and others that have 4.10's, they are the only way to go.

The work would be covered by a GM 1yr/12,000 mile warranty not the manufactures 5yr/100,000mile warranty.

BlackBeauty

Would you have an estimate on cost? What would I expect to switch to 4.10s? With the 5.3l and 4.10s whats the towing capacity?