Will an '86 Raider (Montero) rear axle swap onto my '86 Power Ram 50?

This 86 Raider is buried under 2' of snow but my main question for the group is IF the gearing of this Montero rear axle is different than the gearing of my stock rear axle WON'T I ALSO HAVE TO CHANGE THE GEARING OF MY FRONT AXLE? OR SWAP BOTH FRONT AND REAR AXLES FROM THE MONTERO OVER TO MY POWER RAM? (I rather like the stock gearing on my truck, isn't the Montero bearing possibly going to slow my truck down unless I go with bigger tires?

Is it possible to Re- gear the Montero axle to match my stock front axle but still have the limited slip diff? Or re- gear my front axle to match the Montero rear axle?

Is $400 -$600 a little high price wise for this rear axle?

I'm going to try to jack up both rear wheels to verify that's it's got the limited slip rear diff but is there an easier way I can verify if this is a limited slip diff? What should the tag on the diff say? The door frame tag doesn't seem to give any info about the rear axle. Might there be a locker switch control on the dash?

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY ANSWERS TO MY QUESTIONS / HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS OR TIPS!

BILL

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Originally Posted by Pengineer1

This 86 Raider is buried under 2' of snow but my main question for the group is IF the gearing of this Montero rear axle is different than the gearing of my stock rear axle WON'T I ALSO HAVE TO CHANGE THE GEARING OF MY FRONT AXLE? OR SWAP BOTH FRONT AND REAR AXLES FROM THE MONTERO OVER TO MY POWER RAM? (I rather like the stock gearing on my truck, isn't the Montero bearing possibly going to slow my truck down unless I go with bigger tires?

Is it possible to Re- gear the Montero axle to match my stock front axle but still have the limited slip diff? Or re- gear my front axle to match the Montero rear axle?

Is $400 -$600 a little high price wise for this rear axle?

I'm going to try to jack up both rear wheels to verify that's it's got the limited slip rear diff but is there an easier way I can verify if this is a limited slip diff? What should the tag on the diff say? The door frame tag doesn't seem to give any info about the rear axle. Might there be a locker switch control on the dash?

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY ANSWERS TO MY QUESTIONS / HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS OR TIPS!

BILL

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Bill

All good questions. Most 4x4 Max's are geared to 4.222. Most Monteros are geared around 4.62 if I recall correctly. They move around over the years, but Monteros are generally 4.6 gearing or so. If both vehicles are 4 cylinders then the axles should be similar (8" rears) if not identical. To me I wouldn't swap out the gear ratios as the work to do the front is significant. I would however do the rear with an LSD. If your rigs came from the factory with LSD then there will be a bright Orange and Black sticker inside the drivers door jam that says so. There is also a sticker on the fill plug that is gold and black that says its LSD. And if your black and silver sticker is still on the rear housing then it will also say LSD.

The best way to swap an LSD is to find a donor vehicle with the same gearing and same differential size and just swap out the 3rd member. Can be done quite quick.

You could disassemble the Montero 3rd member and reuse the LSD in your truck. You will have to pay someone to rebuild yours, reshimming and all. I would offer $200 as LSD axles aren't too difficult to still find.

Would his old ring and pinion swap out since that’s a good ratio? I did that when I put a posi in my 88 D50 and did the seals at the same time.

He would keep his same housing and everything in it. Just swap the open diff for the LSD.

Thank you! That's very helpful. I'll let you know how it goes.

Well the salvage yard where I found the Raider doesn't really want to get it out of the snow until spring so I guess I'll have to wait...