The ring and pinion shop said the whole thing is junk. Find them another one to rebuild. Don't drive your truck around with the transfer case in 4H Locked boys and girls. What is different about the 2008-2009 front axles from my 2005? Compatibility seems to be 2003-2007.

 

i believe they have a different gear ration for the 6 speed

 

You are correct. I went ahead and picked up the 2009. It has 3.73 gear versus the 4.10 in my 2005. I can't see any external differences outside of the case is cast with a different part number.

 

outside should be similar but the ring and pinion gears inside the differential would change

 

Of course if you put 3.73 up front you will want to regear the rear to match.

 

4wd axle ratios front and rear need to be within 2% (at the most) of each other!

 

No, I wasn't planning to run it without matching gears.

 

Just to close this out. The years are interchangeable if you match the gear ratio (replace ring and pinion). The innerds are different so you can't mix and match components like axles or carriers.