Going For The 4•5•6 - Rear Axle Bought

I decided to drop the other $80 and get the 8.6" rear axle no matter what this Sunday (my mechanic can't take a look at it this weekend). I also secured a little corner of my friends back-yard so this is where the axle will sit for a few weeks while I poke and prod it.

I'll probably give it a coat of POR-15 but it really doesn't have a lot of rust on it. If I feel really adventurous I may try removing the axles, differential, and ring&pinion to make sure the new stuff will all fit properly.

Well, here it is:

Its from a 2005 Trailblazer EXT, has 3.42 gears, no G80, and only 20,000 km. I'm cracking it open this Sunday and am going to try to remove the brakes and axles. After reading what it takes to remove the carrier and ring&pinion, I think I'll leave that up to the professional.

I'm also going to grind off the rust and give it a coat of Por-15. I'm waiting on some Yukon Gear and Auburn pricing from my contact at North Sore Off Road. After seeing an Auburn Ected up close at a shop, my current worry is that its right side, where the electro-magnet is situated, is too large of a diameter to fit inside this housing. I guess I will have to take some precise measurements and see ...