well, my pop was complaining about a viberation coming from his truck, and it seemed the differential [oem locking/limited slip thing] was staying locked, so today i pop the cover open and rotate the assembly to find the carrier has split from where the center pin/spider shaft goes through the case [right through where the center pin locking screw goes] the ring and pinion look in good shape, and there were no major chunks in the oil or magnet, so i will reuse those 2 parts.. now, where is the cheapest place around [online or in a canadian store] to get a new carrier [pop wants to go with an open diff this time :confused:], spider set and bearing set?

just trying to find out a price for now, and if $$$ ends up being more than pop wants to spend, to the wreckers i go in search of a used diff carrier/spider set and some new bearings..

i'm just wondering how it broke... he doesn't drive his truck all that hard, but he said it started after backing the trailer up a steep icy driveway [truck was in auto 4wd mode] too much wheel spin and it decided to engage at too high a speed differential maybe???

A lot of people buy there stuff from Randy's ring and pinion. I don't have a link, but seen they have some really good prices.

My buddy had the open diff in his 99, and he went through 2 stock setups over a 4 year period.

I just found the link http://www.ringpinion.com/

If you decide to keep the truck for a while yet, I would upgrade to a good aftermarket carrier with a good locker in it.

I have had that done twice, the G80 in the 10 bolt is weak and this is a VERY common problem. You should be thankful that you inspected it before it went kaboom and you find yourself replacing the ring and pinion as well as the carrier. You are making a good decision going with an opened carrier, but you should also be aware that some open from 2wd are 28 splined axles and the 4wd have 30 spline axles, the 30 spline axle will not fit through a 28 splined axles carrier. At least that was the case in the early 90's. 4 wheel parts have those carriers, but they are kind of pricey. I have found that most salvage yards around here won't separate whole rear axle housing, so you may be looking at buying a whole rear axle assembly just to get the parts you need. You can call 4 wheel drive shops to see if anyone has upgraded their rear end from open to limited slip and see if they have spare parts around to sell cheap.

Also, we have found that larger tires (33-35+) on the trucks cause them to break more than stock sized tires.

Yep, not uncommon at all to crack in this spot. Many racers will polish and shotpeen the case in this area to harden and help stop cracks.