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Active brake control rear end vs non active brake control. REAR ENDS

Sstevieboy0208

Sstevieboy0208

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Oct 21, 2020
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Hi. I have an 04 Avalanche with a rear end that is 3.73 without active brake control and it's making noise so took it to a shop and they advised replacing it. Now I found the rear end for it cheaper if it have the active brake control and closer to me and was wondering if I can put a rear end with active brake control on mine instead of the non active as long as they both have the same gear ratio. Any advice will help as I need to do it very soon.
 
What is active brake control?
Never heard of that on an avy...

Do you mean LOCKER?
 
Sstevieboy0208 said:
Hi. I have an 04 Avalanche with a rear end that is 3.73 without active brake control and it's making noise so took it to a shop and they advised replacing it. Now I found the rear end for it cheaper if it have the active brake control and closer to me and was wondering if I can put a rear end with active brake control on mine instead of the non active as long as they both have the same gear ratio. Any advice will help as I need to do it very soon.
Click to expand...
Are you talking about the ABS brake system? I am like ygmn have no idea what you mean by active brake control. If you do mean the ABS braking system as long as your ABS works as in was designed. You can remove the complete rear axle and replace with any that has the same ratio and has the same GM part number. Any good salvage yard should be able the help you select the proper rear end.
 
My 2004 EXT has Active Brake Control.

As I understand it, it works with the AWD system to transfer power to wheels that have traction.

The AWD system is based upon open differentials in the front and rear diffs and the AWD transfer case.

When the Stabilitrac system detects wheel spin, the active braking will automatically apply braking to the wheel without traction forcing power to the other wheels in hopes of finding better traction there.

On a standard 2WD vehicle, when one of your rear wheels starts spinning due to no traction, you can lightly apply the brakes to help shift power to the other side.

Of course, with a G80 rear differential, you can just mash the gas and hopefully pull out of the tight spot without granading the rear end.

To see this system go bonkers (not recommended BTW), put the vehicle on a lift, start the engine and put the transmission in gear.

Give it a little gas and watch as the computer goes nuts applying the brakes in order to find a wheel with traction.

My mechanic did this, without knowing you aren't supposed to do it, while looking for some noises.

Needless to say, it got our attention.
 
RPO code JL4 (active brake control) I'm thinking and it's part of the stabitrac.

I would think you could replace the differential instead of the whole axle if it's a whining noise.
 
The only difference between the active braking and the non active braking from what I understood is that you have 2 brake lines going to the rear for the active braking system as it can engage either of the back brakes. Non active braking only has one. Also the active braking has speed sensors at each wheel, non active braking just uses the speed sensor for the rear axle in the ABS system. The rear end I just pulled out of my truck and replaced with an H2 rear end was Active Braking and it just had speed sensors at the wheels. The shop chopped off the sensor wires but left the sensors in place on my truck but the brake lines were swappable just fine. The H2 rear end I have in there now was also same as active braking. I did not install speed sensors on the sides though since my truck doesn't use them. The H2 rear end had two brake lines.

I could pull up the shop manual stuff to make sure but I believe that will be the only differences. The speed sensors and two brake lines. So if you are swapping out yours and swapping this in its place it shouldn't be a big deal. The active rear end can go into a non active rear truck fine. But not the other way around as there are no locations for the speed sensors you need on the non active rear end.

Ps, if anyone near western michigan needs an active rear end I have the one I pulled out of my truck. It has 3.73 gearing and has a bearing issue. Still rolls fine. Just makes noise. I have the h2 rear end in mine now. Just debating if I want to get the 6 stud axles for it or leave it at 8 studs. Probably leave at 8 studs and to an SAS with a super duty front axle.
 
How can I tell if the rear end I got is 3.73. Aside from the codes. I bought one used and just wanted to make sure it's the right one
 
count the rpms.
Spin the pinion 1 time and the wheel hubs should (both spin) 3.73 times.
if one wheel stops then the other will spin more. so make sure they both spin.
 
Or pull the rear cover off (good idea to do anyhow with a "new, old" rear end. Count the number of teeth on the pinion and the gear. Divide the number of teeth of the pinion into the number of teeth of the gear. You can do this after you drain all of the old rear end lube, clean out the casing and mark one of the teeth then count the number of teeth until you get back to the mark. There is a special marker that is used for gears to check if they are meshing right when someone installs everything to check the lineup of the gears to make sure they are meshing properly . This marker would be safe to use. Or find out what kind it is and use that since it will likely stay in the rear end. Then when done replace the gasket on the rear end, put the cover back on and put in new gear oil. If you have a G80 rear end (locking diff) you may need to add some additive to it as well. But I would STRONGLY suggest changing the gear oil with ANY used rear end new to you.
 
redheadedrod said:
Or pull the rear cover off (good idea to do anyhow with a "new, old" rear end. Count the number of teeth on the pinion and the gear. Divide the number of teeth of the pinion into the number of teeth of the gear. You can do this after you drain all of the old rear end lube, clean out the casing and mark one of the teeth then count the number of teeth until you get back to the mark. There is a special marker that is used for gears to check if they are meshing right when someone installs everything to check the lineup of the gears to make sure they are meshing properly . This marker would be safe to use. Or find out what kind it is and use that since it will likely stay in the rear end. Then when done replace the gasket on the rear end, put the cover back on and put in new gear oil. If you have a G80 rear end (locking diff) you may need to add some additive to it as well. But I would STRONGLY suggest changing the gear oil with ANY used rear end new to you.
Click to expand...
I'm planning on putting fresh fluid in it anyway.
 
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