InfinityShade

My 84 2.5l has a 3.73 rear that id like to swap for 4.11 or higher with a five speed ( currently have the sag 4 ). I have little to no education on real axels and bolt patterns as well as gear set compatability. Could someone enlighten me? Can i take the guts out of my 3.73 and make it a 4.11 or should i find another car / truck with the axel i want? If so what vehicul?

big gear head

I wouldn't even consider changing the gears in that car. You said that you know nothing about rear ends, and changing gears is a complicated job, so doing it yourself would not be a good idea. There will be very little difference between the 3.73 and 4.11, so it wouldn't be worth paying the $500 or more for someone to swap them. There are no other cars or trucks that will have a 4.11 gear that will fit your car, so that isn't an option. Do the transmission swap and leave the rear end alone.

Westech

3.73 in a camaro with a 5 speed will be a good combo. If you go any lower 1 st gear will be 90% worthless.
I have 3.73 with a T5 in mine and its perfect. Still good highway RPMs and a good launch in 1st.

InfinityShade

I am not daunted in the slightest by the rear axel. The only issue I have is not having a press. Ive done everything else to this car myself and pull from my engineering experience when I needed to learn something knew. The iron duke has a 500 rpm idle and produces most of its power in the 3k rpm range. With a 4.11 it will have less clutch burn on take offs, higher mpg, and a fourth or fith gear thats more than just a bog gear (This is information from the s10 forum). I believe the fourth gen axels swaps over but you have to change your offset in rims so your tires dont stick out. As far as I was told most gm rears will swap over. Its just a question of fabrication which id like to keep to a minimum. Im looking for the people who have done this kind of swap and have solid information.

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

Try to find a axle from a 3rd Gen year f body that already has 4:10 and do that. 93-02 f body axles will also work but are a few inches wider.


changine the gears your self is not impossible but does require special setup tools and knowledge of how to properly ser up a gear set.

big gear head

Whoever told you that most GM rear ends will swap was out of their mind. There is more than just a little fabrication involved.

You can swap the gears from a S10 rear end, but that is all. The axles and housing are completely wrong.

If you are willing to learn how to set the pinion depth, bearing preload and backlash, and how to read the contact pattern then go for it. We can help you along the way. I've helped a few hundred people on about 12 different web sights set up their first set of gears. It takes a lot of patients and you must be willing to assemble and disassemble it many times to get it right.

There really is going to be very little difference between the 3.73 and 4.11. If you need a change then you might want to consider a 4.56. A 5 speed is likely going to have a lower 1st gear than your 4 speed, so you may get into a lot of trouble by changing gears. You need to look into the gear ratios of different transmissions before getting into the rear end.

InfinityShade

Im looking at putting a merc 120-150hp into this camaro. So you may be right about keeping the rear, but its not positraction as i desire and ive been following the s10 builds. I also will be rebuilding the sag 4 if i dont go with a t5

big gear head

You can add a limited slip differential to what you have without a lot of trouble. I like the Eaton Posi, Yukon Dura Grip, Power Trax Grip LS and the Eaton Truetrac. I don't like the Auburn or the Eaton Governor Lock. If you upgrade to 28 spline axles you can use the Torsen. If you look in the FAQ about 10-bolts sticky you will find my installation instructions.

InfinityShade

Now we are talking, thanks for bringing the knowledge. Ill check it out.

jmd

iTrader: (4)

Get GM pattern marking grease for the job.
Read this, and print pages 3 & 4 for reference. https://www.ringpinion.com/Content/B...h-Patterns.pdf

A honed new pinion bearing lets you change shims, but split plates or a splitter to pull the (only) bearing works too.

Get some trial and error under your belt.
If your drive AND coast look good, post pics until biggearhead says you're good.

Good to see you put some time and thought into your drivetrain gearing choices.

InfinityShade

I feel that this is the most neglected area in preformance these days. Im not doing this just yet but its all about prep and learning right now. Shocks / struts / awaybar links / end rods / power stearing. All on the to do first. I'm still deciding on my end game so im just lesrning and doing the maintenance.