GM 8.25 IFS Front Differential Bearing Kit Dorman 697-034

Ring and pinion bearing installation kit for the 8.25 inch independent front differential GM used under its half-ton four wheel drive trucks and SUVs from 1988 through 1997. Dorman part 697-034. The box has everything a front diff bearing job or gear swap eats: two carrier bearings and two pinion bearings with all four races, a new pinion seal, pinion nut, crush sleeve, a set of carrier shims, ten ring gear bolts with thread locker already on the threads, a tube of Permatex Ultra Grey gasket maker for the cover, a thread locker packet and a marking compound brush. No gears are included, so this is the kit for noisy bearings on good gears, or the parts you add when you set up a new ring and pinion.

Fitment: 1988-1997 Chevrolet and GMC K1500 pickups, 1992-1997 K1500 Suburban, 1990-1991 V1500 Suburban, 1995-1997 Chevrolet Tahoe, 1992-1997 GMC Yukon and the 1992-1994 full size Chevrolet Blazer, all on the front axle. The 8.25 IFS carrier is the front diff on these trucks; the rear is a different axle and needs a different kit.

On the bench: drop the carrier out of the front housing, pull the pinion, and drive the old pinion races out. Seat the new races square, set pinion depth with the original or corrected shim, and install a fresh crush sleeve. Tighten the pinion nut a little at a time until you hit spec rolling torque; if you overshoot the sleeve, start over with a new one. Press the carrier bearings on, shim for backlash and preload, then paint the ring gear and read the drive and coast pattern before you close it up. Ring gear bolts go in with the pre-applied locker and get torqued in a cross pattern. Seal the cover with the grey RTV and refill with the correct gear oil.

What it fixes: a front end that howls or whines in four wheel drive, a growl that rises with road speed on decel, pinion yoke play, or a pinion seal weeping gear oil onto the front driveshaft. On these trucks the front pinion bearing wears out well before the gears do, so a bearing kit usually brings a noisy front diff back without buying gears.