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Rear end bad...

4K views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  BALLSS 
#1 ·
Well my side gears inside my rear end are wearing out i believe. The axle has play in it and you can pull it out and push it in a 1/4'' or more. I don't want to drop $1,000 on a rear end, so what route should i go. My auburn is also wore out and non working. I also wouldn't mind having a new ring and pinion gear set put in like 3.73's. Anyone know of any quality rebuild kits for the rear ends?
 
#2 ·
The factory Auburn is not re-buildable. I use/recommend the Eaton,but many like the TruTrac also. There is no inexpensive way out really. This is a good time to change the gear,this will actually save some labor. The Eaton uses a slightly different carrier bearing. You should change all the bearings anyway. Inspect the axles too. You won't regret going with the 3.73, that gear will really wake up your ride.
 
#3 · (Edited)
What is the cheapest posi to go with? Also any reputable place to buy a set of 3.73's? And lastly what kind of stall should i run with 3.73's? Car sees a lot of highway driving. I'm running a small cam, which it needs a stall anyway cause my bottom end sucks when launching. I'm about to rebuild my trans so this is also a good time for a stall converter.
 
#4 ·
I use/recommend a quality 9.5" converter. They are not inexpensive,but they're worth every dime. Plus,it isn't something one wants to do twice. I'm very happy with the 3000 stall Vigilante. I have stock heads/cam,headers,and 3.73 rear gears. My 60' times at the dragstrip are under 2sec.
 
#8 ·
Yank makes a 2200 stall TC for GM cars :confused: ???

If they do.....it ain't on their web site.

KW
 
#6 ·
Is it better than what you have? Yes,but I find the 3000 Vigilante to be a vast improvement over the 2500 TCI installed previously. There would have been considerable savings if I had purchased the Vigilante to begin with.
 
#7 ·
I spent 1000 rebuilding my rear end 3 years ago with an Eaton, gears and an install kit. I did the install myself.

I would go bigger than 2200. I have 2400 in truck (got the converter for free) can't really tell much of a difference. Having driven well tuned 3200 and 3600 cars I wouldn't hesitate to go 3000 or bigger for a near daily driven street car.

-Brian
 
#9 ·
you start out saying you don't want to "drop a $1000"....but go on to say what you "want".

the "want" will cost a $1000+

eaton diff $400
Gears $175
Reluctor gear $100
axles $125 each
master bearing kit $100+
fluids $20
Gasket $5
labor $200

If you have the skills and tools to do the labor great...but setting up gears right is knowledge/experience based

Torque converter...like girls...we all like diffrent ones. 2400-2600 stall with a mild cam, IMHO, is good compromise for street. If it is all about the track go higher. Either way consider a larger external tranny cooler addition
 
#10 ·
I wouldn't base the condition on the rear diff on the in/out 'play' in the axle shafts alone. There's a certain amount of play in any C-clip style axle setup. Pull the diff cover off and actually inspect the gears. I've never seen a 10-bolt have gear problems unless it was raced or in an application needing a beefier rear end.
 
#12 ·
If you're wanting to do gears anyway, I would build the other axle and then when the time comes just swap the whole thing as one unit. As stated above some end play is normal. Without inspecting the actual ends of the axle inside the differential you can't really judge.

So long the non-posi is an 8.5 in rear end from an impala all the major pieces are identical. You may want to double check with a search about 9c1 axle widths vs impalas I know there are some differences.
 
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