Rear end


All the horsepower in the world does would not matter if you cannot transfer it to the road. Lost of traction and wheel-hop are two common problems S10s have. To solve this problem there are a couple of things you can do. Traction bars bolts under the rear end and extend forward to the front part of the leaf spring. When talking off the rear end will twist and cause your leaf spring to bow into a s shape. When bars are installed the rear end is held in place by the front part of the traction bars touching the front leaf spring eye. This will reduce wheel hop and slightly increase traction due to the down force the rear end receives back from the bars on take off. Another type of traction bar setup bolts up to the bottom of the rear end and also bolts to the front part of the leaf springs. This keeps the rear end in the correct pinion angle and transfers the twisting force of the rear-end to the frame in front of the leaf springs. This will make your truck sit-up in the back instead of squatting. The lifting motion causes the tires to be pressed harder against the road resulting in more traction. Pinion angle can also be adjusted for less power loss between the rear-end and the transmission. Power loss is the result of the rear end twisting up in the front putting a strain on the drive shaft. This angle at the universal joints does not transfer all the HP to the rear-end. More pinion can be added to rear-ends by twisting the rear-end down. When the rear-end twists up the drive shaft and rear-end will be inline for max power transfer. The way pinion is added is by installing a slanted plate between the rear-end and the leaf springs. Lowering blocks cut at an angle can also set pinion angle.

caltracs.jpg
Caltracs bars mounted on
a set of lowering leafs		 traction.jpg
Traction bars		 133-3356_IMG.JPG
Lowering blocks with 
pinion
  133-3393_IMG.JPG
Lowering blocks with 
pinion installed		  

  
One of the lesser-known traction setup is the third shock. This shock is mounted to top of the passenger side rear-end tube and extends forward to the frame. This shock is designed to stop wheel hop and improve acceleration. These shocks first appeared on S10s in 96 and have made it to most of the newer body trucks. Some owners that did not have one on their trucks have made brackets and installed this shock on their trucks.

133-3396_IMG.JPG
On the top of the rear-end 
you can see the third shock

The biggest problems faced by S10s are the famous one wheel peels. The lack of a limited slip differential is the cause for this. The Xtremes and also the SS models are factory installed with the limited slip differential but the regular S10s are not. Changing out the differential will increase your traction and also reduce the damage done by the one-wheel peels to the passenger side rear tire. While changing the differential out it is a good idea to replace the stock gears with a bigger gear ratio. This will increase your power off the line and will sometimes increase your top speed due to the motor having to work less to turn the tires over. I recommend going 1 size greater on the gear ratio if it is a daily driver and up two gear sizes on trucks that are not. Going up one ratio will cause your trucks speedometer to show 5 more mph at 50mph. So at 45mph you trucks speedometer will read 50. At 90mph your truck will read 100. This really does not cause your rpms to raise all that much but you will be able to tell a difference on the interstate. Installing traction bars, more pinion, limited slip differential, and gears will change the way your truck drives and accelerates.

Chevy Gear Codes

This codes are on the sticker in your glove box

G80 = LIMITED SLIP DIFF

2.73 = GU2

3.08 = GU4

3.42 = GU6

3.73 = GT4, GQ1

4.10 = GT5