Anyone work on the pumpkin?
 

Just lost the ring inside the diff. chewed through four teeth. Anyone do this before? This is a new area for me, I have no experience in this part of the truck. If anyone could assist, that would be great. I am in the Bremerton/Silverdale area. Thanks.

Found myself an axle to swap out...ugh...Now I need the $500 and a way to get it transported over here. Exact replica...tag matching...and only has 64,000miles..so they say.

Here are some carnage pics too.

Dang that looks pretty bad. I have very little experience in the rear end. I helped a friend back in high school auto tech replace a blown up diff guts. I didn't do much of the work.

I would also help with transportation if i could but i don't have trailer wiring yet and my pickup is being used. Plus i leave tonight for north carolina for 10 days. Good luck.

I have a trailer, but I'm all the way over on Whidbey Island. Maybe check to see if there is a place nearby that you can rent a trailer from. We have a local place that rented us a trailer large enough to trailer my truck down on for $100 for the day (Just an example)

The wiring would be quick an easy i just have to buy the stuff and do the work, then i could probably pay my neighbor 20-50 dollars to borrow his 2 axle BUT i have no experience dragging a trailer yet so i probably wouldn't be a good candidate.

Backing is the tricky part. Everything else is pretty simple. Drive like you don't have a trailer, and take turns wide :D

Yeah i figured. Backing up is something i would like to practice slowly and with my own trailer and on my own time :D. As for wide turns i drove a huge chevy conversion van for the first few years i started driving and you have to take em kinda wide there. I AM looking for a small utility trailer for cheap though or a small camper :D

Trailering is easy, at times, take the turns wide. A big note, Don't forget its back there...Not that I have..hehe

Yeah, i think i would have a hard time forgetting, all the banging and jerking it makes. I really want to get a small camper trailer and throw some lift blocks under the leafs then toss some larger meatier looking tires on it. It would make it look awesome :D

You know, we have a 1995 Gladiator Conversion van. G20 chevy. The thing is a tank. So I know the feeling of a large van :D

Small utility trailer? Get one that is made out of an old pickup bed, so you can have a trailer, and then you can put a camper in it :D:D:D:-X04

Not a bad idea, just not any i know of i could get. There is one in the town i live in that i know of and i am sure it isn't for sale.

Finished, axle swap last night...not recommended to do without help.

I've set a couple of Dana gear sets. It's not for the impatient or the easily bored ADDs such as myself.

This makes my job seems so much worse now. I either have to swap the rear axle or the D44 gears...

In my opinion pulling and swapping the 9" center or the entire rear end is much easier than swapping the 44s gears.
I'd hit Craigslist. 1/2 ton 9"s come up all the time.