Rear Differential

[jgasca]

Let me start off by giving some info;
I have an 84 Chevy k10 1/2 ton 350 with a 4 speed granny gear tranny.
I'm running 33" tires on 15" rims (plan on going with 35") under a 4" suspension lift.

So I opened up my rear axle this weekend and ran into this....

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So the truck still runs, only problem I have is when taking off on 2nd... I have to really step on the gas for it to take off. With little gas it seems to almost die or even shake. Can't be clutch chatter being that I just installed a new clutch/pressure plate/fly wheel.

Could my gears be giving me this problem?

Also if/when I replace the gears, what gears should I go with?

I plan on using the truck every now and then to haul wood and any chores that may come up.

I know this question has come up time and time again but I couldn't find any situations that fit.

 

[Boone83K10]

that is some severe lacerations to the diff. get a new one, and buy whatever gears you want, probably 3.73 or higher.

 

[crazy4offroad]

Pinion is loose. You can see the pinion has been chewing on the carrier. If you try to look around/through the diff to the pinion you will see similar carnage. I would take the pinion nut off, apply a super liberal amount of high-strength thread locker and then tighten the pinion nut down but do not over tighten it. Since it has a crush sleeve you probably wont get the pinion bearing preload right again, just get it close, to where you can feel slight drag from the bearings, about like setting the preload on wheel bearings. You should also check your backlash. Install the driveshaft, jack the tires up off the ground and turn the carrier back and forth slightly and see if it has more than 1/16" slop, measuring from the outer edge of the ring gear teeth. That's the shadetree way without a dial indicator. It will help it last a little while but I would be looking at having someone re-do it for you if you're not confident in setting it up right.