What differential is this? So confused.....

by **JustliketheRazor** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 4:36 pm

Forgive my ignorance here, but I got an axle assembly off the 2007 4.2l tv/envoy Saab equivalent. It was super cheap and the guy said it had a g80 locker. 100 dollars and a little clean up I could resist.

Get it home open it up and it looks nothing like what I thought a g80 would look like and I have no idea what the positrac or standard diff looks like. Don't have much experience with the rear.

You guys know what this is?

by **navigator** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 4:39 pm

it's not a great picture but it looks a lot like my G86 which is a limited slip.

by **JustliketheRazor** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 4:43 pm

Ah okay. Thought it looked that way too but wasn't sure. And I had to resize my iphone pic so it turned out hazy

by **navigator** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 4:44 pm

it is just really small and hard to see the internals of the carrier.

by **JustliketheRazor** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 4:51 pm

Maybe this resize will work

by **navigator** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 5:27 pm

yeah, pretty sure that is the G86 limited slip.
The same thing happened to me, I wanted an open 8.6 and they sent a G86.
I had already purchased a no-slip locker to go in mine so I sold it to a fellow member.

I'm going to install mine and run it until I find a reason to upgrade.

by **JustliketheRazor** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 6:04 pm

Well lol for a 100 dollars I guess a g86 isn't bad. Do you like the g86? Also how to you align the spider hears to get that bolt in? I pulled it all the way out and then spun it accidentally. Whoops....

by **Cable810** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 10:59 pm

Yeah that's not an open Diff. Here's a picture of an open diff. Forgot how to resize :facepalm:

YouTube Videos · by **Trail X** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 11:44 pm

JustliketheRazor wrote:Well lol for a 100 dollars I guess a g86 isn't bad. Do you like the g86? Also how to you align the spider hears to get that bolt in? I pulled it all the way out and then spun it accidentally. Whoops....

You mean you took the diff cross pin out and spun the diff? Good luck. No real trick to it that I know of, just have to get it back in the exact sweet spot again.

by **mikekey** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 11:57 pm

They look "open" to me....

lol

by **HARDTRAILZ** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 12:19 am

I thought they only did the G86 in the SS 14 bolt???

by **Moots1288** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 12:41 am

HARDTRAILZ wrote:I thought they only did the G86 in the SS 14 bolt???

That is what I've read, never really heard anything about a G86 in a 8.6.. :lurk:

by **JustliketheRazor** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 12:56 am

Well been doing research, and apparently from the looks of it, both the Saab 9x-7 4.2l and 5.3l came with the 8.6". The 4.2kl got the G80 limited slip differential, different than the mechanical locking version and the 5.3l got the G86 like the SS

by **jonbo2002** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 7:20 am

yes the Saab v8 got a limited slip

by **navigator** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 11:27 am

I think the Bravada did also, mine is out of a Bravada.

by **mikekey** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 11:55 am

So are we saying that both the Bravada and Saab in 4.2L got 8.6 axles by default?

by **navigator** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 12:15 pm

I need to double check if mine was from a Bravada or a SAAB.

by **JustliketheRazor** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 12:54 pm

Alright guys. Confirmed. That axle off the Saab is indeed an 8.6" GT4 G86. The same limited slip on the SS.

Had guy send rpo code pic, vin pic. Crossed referenced those, and looked up set of numbers on gear ring.

Pretty awesome for a 100 dollar axle and the dude said he'll "guarantee" parts for 6 months

MY Youtube Channel · by **TBYODA** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 2:16 pm

Were are you getting this axle from?
Edit: Asking for the company as that is shit cheap for a 07.

by **mikekey** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 2:23 pm

TBYODA wrote:Were are you getting this axle from?

JustliketheRazor wrote:Alright guys. Confirmed. That axle off the Saab is indeed an 8.6" GT4 G86. The same limited slip on the SS.

Had guy send rpo code pic, vin pic. Crossed referenced those, and looked up set of numbers on gear ring.

This is interesting to me personally. I had a suspicion the Saab had the same axle as the SS. Looks like it's at least larger than the standard since the vehicle was setup with a more sporty suspension even in the lesser engine. This makes sense considering Saab's marketing at the time, think Audi.

We just need a confirm from Navigator to see if Bravada's offer an 8.6 axle in stock 4.2L trim. I wonder if that would carry to the Buick's as well. And why wasn't this the standard in the Envoy and Trailblazer is curious.

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