[RIDE-RED 350r]

Axle swap is MUCH less involved than a gear set change! There is more heavy lifting un-bolting U-bolts and whatnot for sure... NOTE: NEVER re-use U-bolts. Always replace with new.

But the REAL work starts when you begin to tackle pinion depth, backlash, pinion bearing pre-load, and finally, carrier bearing pre-load. It's very meticulous time consuming and at times VERY frustrating. I have only done one to date, the one I mentioned above. The first day of work on setup I got nowhere after 14 straight hours playing with it. I got advice online and from a family member who owns a repair shop that used to do rear diff setup. You spend a ton of time learning what you are supposed to be trying to get and how to get it there.

All said and done, just in axle tear-down and rebuild I have about 2o hours of my time in it. Not including hours of research online and seeking advice from other people I know. This does not include the time I spent pulling the old blown axle and installing my freshly rebuilt axle.

I am not trying to scare you away from tackling it. But you should know it's not a 2 hour job to re-gear a diff. There is a learning curve and it takes patience and true understanding of some things that may be new to you. My cousin used to charge 8 hours labor to set up a rear end at his above mentioned shop... I told him it is a bargain!

Yes, the locker is transferable so long as you aren't changin ratios too much. To put it simply, series 3 carriers are for gear sets 3.42 and numerically lower. Series 4 carriers are for gear sets 3.73 and numerically higher. You CAN however run certain "thick" series 4 gear sets on a series 3 carrier. My truck is running a GM 12 Bolt truck axle, 3.73 gear set with "thick" ring gear on a series 3 Auburn Posi carrier. I can elaborate more on this if needed, but for now this post is running long.

Carrier is the part that the ring gear is bolted to. Your carrier is what houses your diff and drive axle splined ends. When you buy for example an Eaton Posi unit or Detroit Locker, you are getting the complete carrier assembly. If your locker is a GM Gov Loc it's nothing terribly special and has a bad reputation for failure earning it the nickname "Gov-Bomb".

Do you KNOW what locker you have??