No other like it.

jfg455 said:

Your best bet would be to swap it out for an 8.5, 12bolt chevy or 8.8 ford rear. The first 2 you would not have to change bolt patterns on your wheels. The last you would have to redrill your axles to match but they can be had cheap and are strong. Look up the www.therangerstation.com for information on the widths, ratios and years they came in.

Click to expand...

I was afraid that's what I'd hear. I don't think I'd find any of those with disc brakes. Even if I went with the drums, I'd have to remake the lines, and hope the master cylinder is compatible. I saw a drum brake 12 bolt 5 lug with 3.73s for sale on Craigslist here for $300. I think I'll pass.

DJ3100 said:

Interesting problem/discussion.

If you are going to drill axles, there is a 12 bolt Chevy here with 6 lugs. Of course it has drums-or maybe it doesn't. I don't know anything else about it. It does have wheels - a little welding would change your 5 lug to 6 lug. Diff is free - forklift rental $100. (just kidding)

Click to expand...

I've been thinking about that axle since you first mentioned it. The problem with changing to a better axle, is about 20 hours of work cutting out the old axle and putting the new one back in. Then I'd really like to get the disc brakes on it, so either I buy that, or make an adapter to make these fit, then a $40 U-joint. After all that, maybe it's the right ratio, maybe it's not. Shoot I don't even know if a different axle will run the driveshaft through my tunnel. It doesn't have much room to begin with. I might have to buy it from you for my next project.

jfg455 said:

Auburn and eatons look very much alike. I would say it is an aftermarket diff that someone put in there after the factory one exploded. Your best bet for the money would be an Auburn unit. I think they are around $380 for that diff and are strong.

I can take the guts out of a 94 S10 rear I have if you just need something to get it rolling. It is an open unit but you can have it for nothing.

Click to expand...

I was wondering if one of the Yukon open units would be stronger than factory. They're $280 from Summit. I really don't need the limited slip, and the open diffs are a lot cheaper. One of the shops I called told me that the Auburns are not serviceable. He said they don't sell parts for them. I wonder if that would matter down the road.

I'd take my chances with another factory diff for now, to give me time and money to get some of the other stuff done that I need to do. I'll have to check my spline count. Is the carrier you have a 3 series? I have 3.73 gears. I'd sure appreciate the help, as I still need to buy seatbelts, a cam and lifter kit, and some other things.

Here the best deal is pull a part a compete rear axle asy. ,less brakes , is about $ 100 . A diff is a few bucks cheaper. The eaton gov locs are junk and will fail if abused. I have run 7.5s on the dirt track for many years , and they are stronger than most give them credit for. That being said if you hook em hard with a lot of horsepower you will break them. I am putting a s10 373 in my current build with about 450 hp. I will make sure I stay with a narrow tire so that it will not hook hard. I found a nice aburn unit on ebay for 200 bucks . That was a good deal for me because at the time I didn't have time to go to pull a part. Don't under estimate the 7.5/7.6 . If you appreciate it fore what it is , it can be very cost efficient and it's lightweight parts are hp efficient as well. It just takes less power to turn a 7.5 than your typical 9" ford. It is also a lot less unsprung weight , if that matters to you.

I should clarify . Pull a Part is a self serve wrecking yard that we have here. it's like a U Pull It.

I'll try to get out to it and see what it has. It was in a 94 S10 with a 4.3 auto. Might be a 3.42 rear and probably a 28 spline unit

My late father ran ford 7.5 ranger and 7.5 S10 axles with no issues.
The problem with C clip axles are if you ring an axle shaft the wheel and whats left of axle flies out from under car,it is no fun,I have been in one when wheel came off.
With Ford 8 and 9 inch axles there is no danger of that as they have retainer to hold axle in without C clips.
But 8 and 9 axles are nearly impossible to find now,so I would just go with 7.5 and be light footed.
Cool project you have.I like it.[dr

Thanks for all the input everybody.

Rapid49, I'm running 138 horsepower to the ground. I was a little quick on the clutch, and it went bang. I don't know. Just lucky I guess. I got this whole axle with brakes for $75 on half-price day at the local yard. I wonder if I can find another one. I just checked prices at another yard, and they want $70 for the carrier.

I counted splines today. I came up with 26, twice. I popped the C-clips out and got a look at the side gears. They're the tapered cone style with no plates. Not that it matters at this point.

So I guess if I get another carrier, it needs to be 26 spline, or else I need to replace the axles too. Do the axles swap out directly?
edit- According to Randy's, the 2002 should be a 28 spline. http://www.ringpinion.com/b2c/DiffL...MakeID=26&ModelID=522&Side=Rear&DriveType=RWD
I'll try again. I've only been counting for a few years now.

Doggone it. It's just about cruising season. I have an appointment for October 12 to get the seats reupholstered.

I know on an open carrier you can swap out yhe axle gears from 26 to 28 or vice versa. they did make two different sizes in both 26 and 28 depending on which carrier you have . I have some of this stuff laying around , I will try to look and see if I have something you could use ,you can have it for the cost of shipping . What is your gear ratio ? I don't remember which series carrier you need ?

I just finished pulling it apart. It's definitely 26 splines. I have 3.73 gears.
It sure is a cute li'l bugger. I'm used to the ring gear being around 9.75-10.5 inches.

Well I've got to get something going back together. I'd appreciate any parts you guys can spare. If it doesn't work out, that's okay. I've been broken down for just over a month now. I can't take any more.
I'm gonna see what I can find for replacement parts tomorrow. Can anyone tell me if I get a 28 spline carrier, will the 28 spline axles fit my housing? Are they the same length, where the brakes will line up? I assume they're the same. Of course the axle bearings would need to match too. I'm guessing they're all the same.

There's a guy selling a Torsen unit for $200.
He says it fits "1987 - up rearends with 28 spline (count the splines because some are 26 spline) axles in S10 , Blazer , S15 , Jimmy , Sonoma , Astro / Safari vans , Camaro , Firebird , Z28 , Trans Am , Caprice & Impala (small diffs not 8.5"). No clutches or cones & spider gears to wear out or brake in the Torsen design"

That means I need axles...

There's also this: http://upullandpay.com/phoenix/home/
GRAB N' GO.
THOUSANDS OF CARS AWAIT YOU.
Pull-A-Thon – September 27!
Get all the parts you can carry for just $59.99!


Aww crud. I know where I'll be Sunday morning.

"There's also this: http://upullandpay.com/phoenix/home/
GRAB N' GO.
THOUSANDS OF CARS AWAIT YOU.
Pull-A-Thon – September 27!
Get all the parts you can carry for just $59.99!"


There's your answer for cheap...[cl

smallfoot said:

"There's also this: http://upullandpay.com/phoenix/home/
GRAB N' GO.
THOUSANDS OF CARS AWAIT YOU.
Pull-A-Thon – September 27!
Get all the parts you can carry for just $59.99!"


There's your answer for cheap...[cl

Click to expand...

Yup. I was browsing for parts while writing that post. Then that showed up.
I think that's settled, except I'm not sure if I can switch to 28 splines.

My experience is that these places don't have very many Camaros and Firebirds. I can't think of any other vehicles with the GM car lug pattern (maybe a rear wheel drive Caddy?). Do the mid '80's Jags have the same lug pattern? I got mine for $48 on half price day.

I'd consider a whole diff from a GM 1/2 ton with disc brakes. You're likely to find an acceptable ratio and maybe posi. It would be plenty strong enough. Lug pattern will be different.

Of course, if you're going to change the lug pattern there is the Ford Explorer and Crown Vic option. In fact, being willing to change the lug pattern opens up a whole range of possibilities.

For $60 for the whole diff, you could easily deal with the lug pattern issue and end up with guts that you could at least identify and replace.

DJ3100 said:

My experience is that these places don't have very many Camaros and Firebirds. I can't think of any other vehicles with the GM car lug pattern (maybe a rear wheel drive Caddy?). Do the mid '80's Jags have the same lug pattern? I got mine for $48 on half price day.

I'd consider a whole diff from a GM 1/2 ton with disc brakes. You're likely to find an acceptable ratio and maybe posi. It would be plenty strong enough. Lug pattern will be different.

Of course, if you're going to change the lug pattern there is the Ford Explorer and Crown Vic option. In fact, being willing to change the lug pattern opens up a whole range of possibilities.

For $60 for the whole diff, you could easily deal with the lug pattern issue and end up with guts that you could at least identify and replace.

Click to expand...

I think you're right. I'm getting pretty fed up with this 10 bolt, 7.5, 7.6, Auburn, Eaton, soup.

Also, I think my axle isn't right for the car I took it out of. It has no speed sensors on it for ABS, the axles aren't the right spline count, and the brakes are an older style.

Changing the whole housing is going to be a major pain. If I switch wheel patterns, I have to buy new 22.5 wheels, and new inner wheels, and remake them. Then of course all of the brackets have to switch over from old to new axles. I might get away with using the same brake lines.
If I do all of that stuff, I'll be much better off in the end. I need bigger brakes on the back anyway.

All I need is an axle that has the pinion in the same place as this one...

You could have a machine shop re-drill the axles to match your wheels for less than $100. Then the only thing you'd need to do is weld on the brackets. Or am I missing something?

DJ3100 said:

You could have a machine shop re-drill the axles to match your wheels for less than $100. Then the only thing you'd need to do is weld on the brackets. Or am I missing something?

Click to expand...

That's basically it. The brake lines will need new fittings probably. The U-joint will most likely be different, and I will probably have to shorten the driveshaft. I was thinking that instead of redrilling the 6 lug to a weaker 5 lug pattern, I'd upgrade the wheels from 5 to 6 lug.

Do you know what the ratio is on your 12 bolt? I just measured a 10 bolt on a full size 1/2 ton pickup with disc brakes. It's a 2000 I think. the axle is about 8 inches wider than mine. I have to measure mine again, which means I have to reassemble it.

That doesn't sound right 8litre...you sure the rear you have is off a 2002 transam??? Both the trucks and the camaros and transams got a little wider over the years but I don't think they differed that much.

http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/Wheelbase,_track_width,_and_differential_measurements

Well that's what I took it off of. I think it may have been a transplant, but still it had all of the camaro/firebird suspension junk on it, like the spring pockets, panhard bar, and torque arm. The newer pickups have all kinds of junk on the axle, outboard of the frame, then they run a wheel with deep backspacing to keep the track width.
I just measured mine. I got smart and measured the shafts and added the cross pin. Each axle is 30 3/8, and the pin is 5/8. It comes out to 61.425 inches.

I used that website some, but it's a bit incomplete. The only other thing I can find for the newer pickups is here: http://www.performancetrucks.net/fo...2001-1500hd-9-5-sf-14-bolt-axle-width-445738/

It says the 2000 is 68.5 inches, in another spot it says 68 for the 10 bolt. So that's basically 7 inches wider. It's a no-go.

However, if I remake the wheels, I can adjust the backspacing some, to keep track width the same.

I'm remembering why I usually overbuild everything.

I'd look into a 8.8 Ford. F150 and Expedition, maybe Crown Vic also, will be the widest, with Explorer/ Ranger the narrowest. They come with disc or drum brakes depending on the engine or options. 4X4's usually have 3.55's in the trucks, 3.08 in the 2x4's.

My 12 bolt is about 63" hub to hub. Not sure what gears it has - not totally sure it has gears. It does have a panhard mount.

8literbeater said:

It says the 2000 is 68.5 inches, in another spot it says 68 for the 10 bolt. So that's basically 7 inches wider. It's a no-go.

Click to expand...

So what you have is a 3rd gen rear (84-92) They had all the same mounting points but were wider due to the deep off set wheels of those years. Probably what happened is someone swapped it in so they could run a standard offset wheel. I would grab an 8.8 ford and drill the axles and rotors to the 5 on 4.75 pattern of your wheels. That would be the easiest way to go and the strongest for the money. Just my $.02[P