camaro87-alex

I was thinking of changing my 2.73 gears in to something a little higher. I have a 87 Camaro Sport coupe with rear drum brakes. I don't know what kind of rear axle I have but I guess it is a standard rear axle. I have found some 3.43 gears and some 3.73 gears on Summit. I was thinking of changing this gear and pinion on my Camaro? I am not familiar with rear axles, but i learn something new every day. Can I just buy a gear and pinion set from Summit?..Do I need any special tools? or special equipment to change this?...I mean do I have to change something else than just the gear and pinion?? and also another question. what gear ration should I buy if I'm going to? Is 3.43 good?...Or is 3.73 good on my stock 305??.... I am going to upgrade engine a little bit soon but not so very much. Mayby to about 250HP - 300..Something around there...

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CamaroAlex

DJP87Z28

SEARCH, SEARCH and again SEARCH...... Until you have the general idea what is required then ask a question.

ronusmcmma

If you are not a pro with the tools needed its best to find a really good shop that specializes in rear end work and will offer some sort of warranty. I'm also going through the process now.

camaro87-alex

Ok...

The worst response on forum threads I get is when people tell me to get something to a shop and so on.... If i'm asking about engines, take the motor to a motor-shop...if it is painting take it to a paint shop..etc etc...

The only reason I have a 87 Camaro in Norway, is because I want to DO EVERYTHING on the car by myself. Of course I need help on special things that you really need special machines to work with but almost everything else I want to do by myself.....

I am not a car mechanic but I am a Industrian Mechanic as it is called here.
I work with mechanical things every day. I weld, grind, drill, mounting, cutting, plate-working and so on every day so YES I can handle some tools.

My Main question here is actually what do I need when I am going to change gears?...What kind of tools. I haven't opened up a differential carrier before alone so I haven't experience YET..

But mayby I will do the way I always learn something of. And that is just to start the job. I have learned so much about Cars all by my self and that is JUST because I am not afraid of touching something. I unmount whatever I have to Unmount. Sometimes i fail and have to buy new parts, but what the heck..That's the only way I learn something I can guarantee.


Back to the thread topic. If I buy some 3.43 gears for my rear end.
How will this process go?..what to unmount first to get the old gears out??

Thanks for the response every one

grizzlyta44

You need to check what rear end you have as this will estimate the headache you are going to get from trying to find all the parts. I have a 9-bolt and if I had to do all over again I would of bought a Moser and been done with it already. If you do have the 9-bolt these are the threads you want: http://www.thirdgen.org/9boltservice
and
http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/fa...now-about.html (Everything I know about 9-Bolt Rearends!)

Good Luck and pay close attention to where everything goes as this can be a Mother****er

1989irocz1

How many miles do you have on your car. I wanted to change gears last week but a highly professional mechanic told me that I had to get my rear end rebuild because i have too many miles to switch gears now ( 120,000 miles) . It is not too hard to switch gears, you just have to line up the bearing correctly or you will have some problems.

camaro87-alex

Thanks again for the response.

I don't know what kind of rear end I have. The only thing I know is that it is a stock rear end on my 87-Sport Coupe.

How could I find out what kind of rear end I have??
I guess there is a serial number written on the rear end??

89TXIroc

you should be set with a normal set of tools and a very accurate ruler. also, they sell shim kits which will help with the install due to very specific clearances needed. Another thing I ran into was carrier differences. I had 3.08 gears and found out that 3.08 and below is a 2 series carrier and 3.23 and above is a 3 series.

I had to use a spacer which i found on http://reiderracing.com/ringgear_spacers.htm for the 7.5" 10 bolt because I bought 3 series gears, thinking they were all the same.

Personally, I love my 3.73 gears over the 3.08 and they are completly streetable in my opinion.

1989irocz1

So that means the carrier is a different size for 3.08 and up? So my 3.25 gm gears for 7.5 10 bolt will not fit in the place of a 2.77 gear 7.5 10 bolt?

89TXIroc

gears from the factory are what determine the carrier. if you have aftermarket 3.73's for a 2 series, you should be fine

factory ratio 3.08 and numericaly lower = 2 series
factory ratio 3.23 and numericaly higher = 3 series

DM91RS

http://www.keliente.com/gears1.htm

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91 RS 305 5 spd. Vortec's, LT4 cam, full exhaust, 3:73's, EBL

http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/vb...mber-4512.html

92RS702

First thing to do is,count the bolts on your diff.If you have 9 it's called a 9 bolt,10 it's called a 10 bolt.Next look for the numbers stamped on the right front part of the diff,and post them on here so we can help out a bit more,but the best thing to do is pop the diff cover and either count the teeth on ring an pinion or look for the numbers stamped on the gears.This will tell you exactly what gears you have.

JamesC

41 : 15 = 2.73
41 : 14 = 2.93
40 : 13 = 3.08
42 : 13 = 3.23
41 : 12 = 3.42
41 : 11 = 3.73

JamesC

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luvofjah

I know enough to say the backlash and preload and such things need to be measured and set accordingly, or it will whine or lead to premature wear...

don't know enought to tell you spefically what to do or tools needed...

Raf

gcgarner

I know you don't want to hear this, but if you don't even know what rear end you have, you might want to leave something as complicated as a gear swap to the pros. If not, your Camaro might fly off those Norway roads and end up totaled ... and you might end up badly hurt or worse.

Keep in mind, your car was/is factory equipped with a 2-series carrier since you have 2.73's. You will need to get a "thick" aftermarket ring gear to fit your 2-series carrier, or you will need to upgrade to a 3-series carrier to fit anything above 3.08 (assuming your car is a 10-bolt ... which is a pretty safe assumption on an 87 SC with rear drums.)

Is your car a factory posi? If not, then you will probably want to invest in a posi carrier, in which case a 3-series posi would be the obvious choice because it would allow you to use standard ring gears instead of the thick ones. I just don't see the point in running lower gears with an open differential.

I wish I could tell you that it is as easy as draining the oil, pulling the gears, popping new ones in, and hitting the road ... but it's not. My car is in the shop right now getting 3.42s in the rear end. I like to do a lot of work myself, but this is way above me. Even Super Chevy magazine said in an article a while back to "leave it to the pros."

Oh, and you have 26-spline axles. That's really important to know when/if you buy a new carrier.