differences between 81 and 82 7.5 rear

[jcelk]

i think the carrier bearings are larger on the 82 and up how can i tell the difference with out tearing the rear apart

 

[Bonnewagon]

Go to RockAuto. Look up both years parts. Looks to me they are the same. https://www.rockauto.com/

 

[Steve 82 Elly]

I think in '82 is when they switched to metric wheel studs

 

[86LK]

if the carrier bearings are larger/smaller, I would suspect that it has to be Series I vs Series II carrier. or to put it a different way, where the gear ratio breaks and requires a different thickness ring gear to the pinion. I believe that is around 3.20:1

 

[WanaBa442]

IIRC, the pinion bearings were different (smaller) on the 78-80 rear ends. I'd have to look, saves all that info somewhere.......
found it, here of all places😉 https://gbodyforum.com/threads/78-81-vs-82-up-rear-ends.84733/

 

[ELCAM]

As stated above it is the pinion bearing that changed. I already found the pages for the carrier bearing so here they are.

 

[jcelk]

thanks guys as always there is a wealth of knowledge here happy motoring