I'm looking into getting some new gears for my car. There is alot more than I thought to the gears. What do I need? 10 bolt? 12 bolt? what size? I am looking at Richmond Gears, perferably the 3.73 gears. can anyone give me a part number that I should get?

Also, will I have to do anything else to make the new gears fit?

1992 Camaro RS with L03.

Thanks alot,
Kevin

 

Just to let you know, the Richmond gears are very noisy!! This is due to the straighter grind on the gears than the OEM style. All the gearsets that you can get will wear pretty much the same if it's on a daily driver, and even sees the dragstrip once in a while.

Changing out the rear gears is not awfully difficult, but it's not something that you would want to undertake unless you plan on opening up a drivetrain or diff. shop. There is a certain amount of expertise required to set up a rearend correctly, not to mention a few specialty tools. Not every grease monkey will have most of those things.

Best bet is to talk to the guys at your local speed shop and do a little research on places that specialize in rear setup. (a good 4X4 shop would probably be a safe bet too)

I don't mean to discourage, but this is a major job you are thinking of, so be careful!

 

You have a 7½" (or 7.6" or 7-5/8", all the same thing) 10-bolt.

I'd recommend the GM Motive gears rather than the Richmond. You're a very long way from needing any more strength in the gears than the Motive will provide. Also, you have a 2-series non-posi carrier now; you would have to buy the speical 3-series gears for a 2-series carrier if you keep that. The thing to do would be to get the SLP take-off posi and put that in at the same time. I would also suggest a "stud girdle" type of rear-end cover, like the T/A one, if you want to improve the durability of the whole setup.

 

When you say that I am long away from needing the strength of the Richmond gears, would the GM Motive support like 250-300 hp? I am planning on replacing the Throttle Body, Intake, Headers, Cat Back, and some other little things. Would The GM Motive 3.73 gears be good for this application?

PonchoTA - I am planning on taking my car some where to get the rear end done. When you say they are noisy, do you mean like annoying noisy or loud muscle car noisy?

Thanks for all your help.
-Kevin

 

I mean annoying type noisy! There is gear whine at all speeds, both on, and off power too. The Motive gears are right in between the OEM and the Richmonds (so are Yukon and US Gear, by the way) My diff builder has stated on more than one occasion that almost all the gears will handle about the same amount of power in the short term, and you really don't need Richmond (or the like) gears unless you have a dedicated drag car. If it's mostly a street car with an occasional blast down the strip, then even OEM is fine.

If you have a manual car, 3.42's or 3.73's are a good choice,
if it's an automatic, then a little higher gear 3.23's to 3.42's are the best bet.

hth!