heres my humble opinion.
pull the rear end, change the gear... i got to imagine if you want a used one a bone yard could set you up with the gear set... or call a stealership. or go aftermarket. be sure to only get a 3.42.. or you'll be sorry. also, a whole rearend, from what i recall, wont work right because of the abs setup. but, tloof is the guy who seems to know that stuff inside and out.
as far as brakes... I would think flushing the brake system would be a good idea too... get a power bleeder and put new fluid through the system.... that way you shouldnt have a problem with the abs system.... and you get nice new fluid.
the abs issue comes when changing the front pads and you push the calipers in using a c-clamp... this pushes the shit in the brake line back up to the abs box... this is why you open the bleeder screws.
imho anyways.
chad
