What rear end gears came in a 1983 z-28 with a 5-speed, lg4 305.... is it positve traction?

 

come on guys....i know you know

 

to find out you need to pull the axle code off of the pass. side axle tube on the top near the housing.
BD3

 

How long is the code usually, and what do I do once I have the code?

 

You'll need a wire brush to see the code. And actually, doesn't it face "forward" on the passenger side axle tube? I don't think it's on top (facing upward) of the tube.

Your best bet- especially if you're going to buy the rear from a junkyard- is to yank the rear cover. Bring an old antifreeze bottle with you, and knife off one side to catch the fluid. (Besides the environment, that stuff stinks so damn bad that you don't want to have it soak into the ground right where you're gonna put your head!!) if they're GM gears, the ratio will be stamped into the ring gear. If you see 41:11, celebrate; 41 divided by 11 is 3.7272727272 !

The code is usually somewhat long, it also includes a datestamp. There will be 3 characters close together; those will tell the ratio and differential that the axle came with. That's assuming nobody changed what was in there before you came along... that's why it's best to drop the cover. Besides, you wouldn't want to buy a rear and find out the gears were chewed up!