Differentials and Transfer Case Info:
The rear axle for the 3.6 engine is the Dana M220 with a 8.6" ring set. It appears that Range Rover and Jeep Wrangler Sahara use a variant of the same rear axle. Unless... the Colorado has the Wide version of the M220. In which case the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon uses that one. I will read into this more when time permitting.
The front axle is a Dana M200 IFS
Also, since I have the Z71 I got the rear auto locker(non-electric). Which is made by Eaton. Though... any Colorado with a tow package option will also have this. They are super simple and have been around for a long time. My last several trucks(Silverado and 1st gen Colorado) had the same thing and they were maintenance free for the over 200,000 miles I put on each of those trucks. No wires/Just gears and such. If you are wondering if you have that feature in your truck... look at the sticker in the glove box. If you have the G80 code then you have it.
If you are wondering what the importance of a locking rear diff is off-road... here is a slightly cheesy video describing how the Eaton G80 auto locker works and what the benefits are of having one that auto locks versus Electronic locking. The one thing they failed to mention in the vid is that the G80 will engage at speeds up to 20mph. In either forward or reverse. Pretend all of the 4WD vehicles are GMs and just focus on the fact that they had open diffs. It wont be so cheesy then. lol
On a side note... having a locking rear diff makes donuts on dry pavement possible as well.
The Transfer Case is made by Magna. The model is the MP3025G Auto-trac. I am having a hard time finding info on this. They make Xfer cases for many auto manufacturers as well... so it is their specialty and they should be pretty good.
4 Auto and 4HI can be engaged at speeds up to 75mph. With the truck in 4 Auto mode you can drive around on dry pavement without binding up the drive train. So if foul weather is headed your way you can just put it into 4 Auto a leave it there for months and not worry. 4WD does actually engage in 4 Auto... it just varies the amount of power getting diverted to the front wheels. AKA the center diff. is engaged... but unlocked. A very useful real-world feature. If in rough stuff I would use 4HI or 4Low though. They will be stronger and provide 100% power instantly to the wheel with traction (if you get a front locking diff as well). If say all 4 wheels are spinning and one suddenly grabs... then it has 100% of the power output. So don't let them spin too fast or things will snap possibly!
4 LOW can be engaged at speeds up to 3-4 mph.
Neutral mode is obviously for towing behind an RV and such... as in I will likely never use it.
Here is the only link I have found with info. on gear ratios and such for the Xfer case. I want to find out what the inner workings are.
https://www.gmfleetorderguide.com/N...427&vehicleid=21147®ionID=1§ion=oi_def
Magna Powertrain makes transfer cases and such for a great deal of different manufacturers. It appears that 60% of 4WD vehicles on the road use their transfer cases. That is 6 out of 10.