Originally posted by Cyclemut:
But you won't have your ABS any more, as they didn't have the ABS rings on the early shafts. Also, the early shafts have a 0.005" difference in size, being that they are smaller.
The ABS will work fine. The tone rings are present on the shafts. I pulled the tone rings off of my shafts just to make field-replacement easier since my ABS sensor is on the 3rd.
For the shaft diameter difference, you just need to buy the early oil seals if you get the axles as assemblies (with the bearings, locknuts, etc) like I did.
The Detroit worked great on my last outing. Ground clearance, not traction, is now the limiting factor for my truck.