Is a s-10 rear a direct fit for a thirdgen. And if it is a 93 and up is the rear 2" longer like the the 4th gen rears.I know it's 57" plate to plate and62" axle to axle on the third gens. I found a 02 s-10 rear 4x4 complete 3.73 with brakes and calipers for a steal. Thanks. Respect.

 

No.

Has no provisions for the torque arm, no provisions for the Panhard bar, and is set up for leaf springs not coils.

 

yep just got back from the junkyard and got a lesson. pulled a few axles and they measured 30 5/16" to the end of stud not the axle flange is this correct? I'm trying fellas. Read the **** out of the 10 bolt thread. Got my info mixed up. Bare with me. Respect.

 

You could pull the posi and gears out of it to use in your diff however the 93 and 02 S10 will have 28 spline axles so your third gen will also need 90-92 third gen or aftermarket 28 spline axles. No other axles will fit into the third gen housing.

 

S10s used 7.625" with 4.3 when the same years they kept using the 7.500" with the lesser engine(s). As for splines, IDK.

 

7.5" and 7.625" are the same thing, for all practical purposes.

Can't even buy 7.5" gears any more. They're all the slightly larger OD nowadays. Not that it matters a whole lot since you can take any gear and stick it on any carrier in any housing, they're all the same, for all practical purposes. Only difference is the internals (small gears and such) of the carrier.

Splines are all the same; 27 on the pinion all years. 26 on the side gears & axles 89-back, 28 90-up (give or take). That stuff isn't why the S truck rear won't fit these cars.

No way in Hell I would put a S truck "posi" (Gov-Bomb) in my car. I'll run an open in preference to that garbage.

 

7.62 and 7.5 are pretty much the same rear end. Almost all parts interchange between them. The 7.5 was upgraded to 7.62 in about '86, so all of them after that were 7.62.

 

Some ratios have never been made in 7.625", only as 7.500", and most of the aftermarket gear sets developed before '85 continue to be manufactured as 7.500". And why not? The strength difference is nothing until you fit aftermarket 28-spline shafts anyway.
Not that anyone but me wants new 2.73:1 gears, but to get them in 7.625" means spending over $ 1000 for genuine GM new-old-stock. Both of the remaining aftermarket alternatives are 7.500", but are under $ 300.
Cheaper to swap a 31-spline Ford 8.8", if you're going with something that isn't a direct bolt-in. Good luck breaking one of those.

 

Ummmm.... no.

2.73 gears, the single most common ratio, in stock applications starting in 86 or 87 whenever it was, were the same OD as any other.

AFAIK there are NO 7.5" gears being made any more; haven't been for at least 20 years. Nowadays they all have the extra 1/16" around the outside. No mfg operation in its right mind would make 2 different sized things to fit in the same place. Given that gears are made from "blanks" that are forged to a specific size, and are therefore MASS-PRODUCED, and subject to all of the cost and inventory management and factory floor handling and tooling implications that go with that, then ... if the blanks are the same, then the gears are too.

 

As far as I can recall all of the new after market 7.5 gears that I have installed have been 7.62 gears.