waynek

I took my 92 RS to a small time mechanic to have the Torsen put in my 10 bolt 7.5 rearend. The mechanic swore to me that it was very slightly too big. I'm sorry, I have done a lot of research and it should have fit. What a waste of money on labor. So my question is: Can anyone tell me for sure if it will fit in my Camaro? Thanks

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Yes it will fit.

The way rear end parts work in a general way is, the moving parts (gears, carriers, axles) are all VERY precise (within a .001" or 2), but the HOUSINGS (big thing you're putting all the moving parts into) varies ALOT.

Imagine if you will, that you have all the moving parts all properly aligned out in space somewhere; and then you walk up to this perfectly set-up group of stuff with some random housing, and you have to choose shims that allow the housing to fit around the moving parts. You're trying to hang this wildly variable housing around a very consistent core. That's what you're REALLY doing when setting up a gear housing, because THAT'S the thing that varies, and needs to be brought into consistency; rear end, transmission, transfer case, or what have you.

Lesson to be learned from this is, if you're taking parts out of one housing and putting them into another, the shims go with the housing; NOT with the moving parts.

IOW, in your case, you should be able to put the Torsen into your housing using YOUR housing's existing shims. Might need a case spreader or a couple of big C-clamps (what I usually do) to get it in, since there's supposed to be preload on the carrier bearings. That is, the carrier plus the bearings, should be a few .001"s wider than the space in the housing; I usually shoot for about .015".

You might need new carrier shims. Stock ones are cast iron, and often break (crumble) when handled, or have excessive wear. I NEVER re-use them, although I often measure them and selec tnew ones to match. You can get new ones from any number of sources; Ratech, Tom's, Randy's, etc.

waynek

sofakingdom, I thank you very much for the information. I lost sleep over this last night. Now I believe I can get some good rest and take this to a PROFESSIONAL. Once again, Thank You.

big gear head

Assuming that the Torsen is the correct series for the gears that you are using, read this and see if it helps any. http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19773

Also check the bearings and make sure that they are completely seated on the case. They should be completely seated with no space at all behind them. Use a .001 feeler cauge to check them. Be sure that the bearing races are correct. There are several races that will fit the bearings, but there are different thicknesses of races. Check the numbers and be sure that they are correct.

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

Btw, just to add to what Sofa was saying about getting a tight carrier to go into the housing. Instead of a case spreader or c-clamps, another trick I found that worked surprisingly well is to put the carrier in the freezer for about an hour. The cold shrinks the metal a bit. I took the carrier out of a Dana 60 rear once, and I couldn't get it to go back in, even using a fairly large hammer. Put it in the freezer for a while, hurried and took it back under the car while it was good and cold, and the thing pretty much just dropped back in place! I was able to push the shims back in with my thumb! Also works good for ring gears. Instead of using a hammer and a brass drift to put the ring gear on a carrier, just freeze it and it drops right on.