It varies by set, which is why the listing matters: at minimum you're getting an assembled housing with shafts, and many sets add gears, carriers, and brackets configured at order time. Brakes, driveshafts, and small hardware differ between builders. Read the included-components list line by line, and ask us to confirm anything ambiguous before you order — "complete" is a spectrum, not a promise.

Mostly yes when the set is built for your specific platform with matching bracketry — those are designed to land on factory or common-lift mounting points. Custom link setups, unusual lifts, and hybrid builds typically mean some fabrication or bracket welding. Driveline work is the constant either way: plan to verify pinion angle and driveshaft length no matter how bolt-in the listing sounds.

Match your other axle first — front and rear have to run the same ratio — then size it to your tire diameter and transmission so the engine cruises in its comfortable range. If you're swapping both axles, this is the cheapest moment you'll ever have to get the ratio right, so order for the tires you plan to run, not the ones on the truck today.

Yes. A fresh ring-and-pinion needs gentle heat cycles before it's ready for abuse: easy miles, no towing or hard climbs at first, then a fluid change once break-in is complete, following the builder's instructions. Skipping it overheats the gear faces and comes back later as whine or worse. It's the least exciting part of an axle swap and the most often skipped.

Check three numbers: bolt pattern, track width, and driveshaft length. Plenty of complete axles move you to a different bolt pattern or a wider track, which can obsolete your wheels or change the backspacing you need. Driveshafts almost always want measurement after a swap, since length and pinion angle both shift. None of it is difficult — all of it is cheaper to know before the old axle is out.