The mounting and shock brackets may be different,depending on if it's for leaf or coil spring,but the carrier will be the same.
All you have to do is pull both axle shafts out of the hubs about 8 inches,drop the driveline and remove the bolts holding the carrier into the front of the housing. (Be careful-it's VERY heavy!)You don't even have to jack up the truck. Wipe out the inside of the housing to get any contamination out,clean the gasket surfaces up and wash with brake cleaner,lay a bead of sealer(I use permatex Hi-Temp orange silicone)on the housing gasket surface,cut a couple of pieces of all thread about 2 inches long and thread them into the housing opposite from each other to align the carrier.Slide the new carrier assembly over the studs(It's good to have a friend help here),put a little sealer on the threads of all the bolts and install them,and run them down snug.Remove the 2 studs and install the remaining bolts then torque them all down in a crossover pattern,just like you do on wheels. Connect the driveline,re-install the axles and torque them down,fill with new gear oil(synthetic is good if the rear end has no obvious leaks) and you're done.(If you have time to let it sit for an hour or two after assembly before you fill it,it'll let the sealer cure up more completely.) I think I'm going to change mine over to synthetic lube this summer. A friend told me he changed to synthetic gear oil on his Dodge diesel's transmission,axles and transfer case and the lube temp dropped about 25 degrees on the rear end at highway speed,and it seems to me the benefits will increase the lower the gear ratio is.
Speed
