chevy/gmc dually

Well, I will tell you that I disagree. I was born and raised in Buffalo, NY and have had the previalge of driving with both types of tires. While I will say that when you are dealing with icy road, studs or chains are a much better choise then "plain" tires, however if you are driving in snow, packed or loose, studs are of no real benefit.

OMG... 6 sentences, 6 lines, 1 punctuation mark, and NO caps.

Oh hell, here we go again.

That depends on if it is a 2wd or 4wd but if you get a 454 with a GT5/4.10 ratio in a dualie, you are not going to need to change gears unless you start getting over 10,000 or 12,000 lbs in trailer weight and tow in hills a lot. A 454 is a great gas tow motor.

----------------- TheSnoMan.com

The problem is "loose" snow can pack under tires to ice or near ice especaily when wet and studs do help. Sure you can skate around without them and get by like many do but i choose not to and in my snow plowing bussiness I go out when roads are at their worst and sometimes closed and we get icy storms here from time to time too. Sine I sarted using them years ago they have made driving in the slick stuff a LOT less nerve wracking and even if they only make a big difference 5 to 10% or the time, the 5 or 10% can be a life saver. I run 4 studded tires on plow truck and 2 on rear of wifes 2wd RWD car and that car easily out performce 4x4 's on the slick stuff and never wants to trade ends. They are great for towing on slick stuff too as it just takes on icy bridge or curve without them to really spoil your day.

----------------- TheSnoMan.com

Between $1200 and $1800 depending on the prevailing local labor rate, where the parts are sourced from and what all is replaced as part of the job. Naturally, if the truck is 4X4, figure double.

Guess again, maybe at a car dealer, around 1400 or so for both axles on a 4x4 abd about half that for a 2wd. The gears are about 225 for rear and under 200 for front for quality aftermarket ones. There is no need to replace bearing in axles with a gear change unless it is have problems as the axles in a truck of that era are pretty sturdy. (many may try to tell you otherwise and like to to milk you for more coin) The D70 it should have in rear is not a labor intesive axle to setup (if you know what you are doing) nor in the front pig with the 9.25 IFS. If you go a acle change route, buy the gears in aftermarket and then shop around for best price and job. If you buy gears and bearings at a dealer figure on paying about 3x what they cost otherwise. Yukon and Precision make a good aftermarket gear and gear for those axles are very easy to come by.

----------------- TheSnoMan.com

Unlike you, I don't have to guess. I do this for a living, I know first hand what the finished product sells for.

Maybe that's where they feel most comfortable having the work done.

Just because they can be bought for that price doesn't mean that is what a shop is going to sell them for.

That issue is between the customer and the shop doing the work. No shop in their right mind is going to warranty used parts, but since they're the last ones to touch it, that's what the customer is going to expect. Or, they can have it done by you and get a half assed hammer job with a warranty good for the length of your driveway.

Hey genius, D70s suffer from chronic bearing failures. You'd know that if you actually had a clue.

"best price" equals Walmart mentality.

And if they supply their own parts, they get no warranty and the labor charge is increased. SOP at most shops.

You farmed out your leaking intake gaskets TWICE, why should anyone believe anything you say, especially regarding drive gear servicing?

I'll give you this; if someone wanted advice on how to establish a bad working relationship with their repair shop, you can give very accurate advice.

hi: How do you find out what gear ratio comes with your truck guys? (96-00 chevy 3500)

Katie

Look in the glove compartment for a sticker with a bunch of 3 letter/number combinations. One of these RPO codes will tell you. Hopefully someone will post a list if they have one, or you can google RPO codes and find a list.

Tinker

You can check the RPO codes at

Here is a simpler list that just deals with axle ratio codes in link below but then a GT4 is a 3.73, a GT5 is a 4.10 and a HC4 is a 4.56