4 Wheel Drive/SUVs: 1997 tracker have same front diff (and gears) as a 2003 chevy tracker ?

Question
i just bought a 2003 chevy tracker and the guy neglected to tell me the front diff was busted. as soon as i put it into 4WD it made horibble noises.
so i have a 1996 and a 1997 chevy tracker and they are all 5 speeds but i dont know if the front diffs will work if i put one of the older ones into the 2003.

like if the gears are the same and all that. it looks the same on the outside but cant tell for sure.

i have wanted another tracker for 8 years and fuinally buy one and this happen ugh..
any help would be much apreciated thank you !!

Answer
Rhianna,
According to what I can find, the differentials were changed in 1999.  When changing the differentials, it is mandatory that the gear ratio is the same as the rear differential.  There were several ratios available in them, depending on the transmission (automatic, or manual.)
You can find used ones fairly reasonable on line.
I would contact a local tracker club in your area and see if anyone in the club has done this swap.  Also, you can call a Chevy dealer or a local wrecking yard and have them run a cross reference on the vehicles.

Here are some sites to check out.

http://chevroletforum.com/forum/tracker-26/

Carl