i keep forgetting, and im sure its an easy search, however since its broke, im resorting to asking again. what size did us thirdgenners get for the 10bolt? was it the 8.5? 8.2? 8.875? or 7.5?

and how many splines are the half shafts?

and how many of these ten bolts are interchangable with lockers and c clip eliminators?

 

7.5/7.62

 

It's considered a 7-1/2" however 1986 should have been the changeover year to 7-5/8". Parts are interchangable between the two but the ring gear was made slightly larger. They use the same carrier etc.

Axles will be 26 spline. 28 spline didn't become standard until 1990. You can change over to 28 spline by simply changing the carrier and axles. The only 28 spline axles that will fit will be from a 1990 - 1992 third gen or aftermarket axles.

To my knowledge, there are no c-clip eliminators for this tiny diff. It's just not a performance diff where the manufacturers want to invest parts into. Not sure about lockers but there is a 26 spline mini spool available for dirt track racing.

 

unless im seeing something blatantly obvious why this doesnt work for my application, here is some links to c clip eliminators.

moser c-clip eliminators

and those are for the 7.5 axle. stock axles, if its specific i get it for the 7 5/8's axle, i can get them as well, but i have to get the matching moser axles.

powertrax locker

and this is the locker for the 7 5/8 diff. so with that and the 28spline mosers, and cclip eliminators, all this will work together, am i correct?

 

Correct

The downside is that the weak link in the entire diff is still the tiny ring and pinion. I wouldn't be spending all that extra money installing those kinds of parts on the small diff. A stock diff with a few upgrades will take the same amount of abuse.

You need c-clip eliminators if you run quicker than 10.99 in the 1/4 mile. If you're running that fast, a 7.5" diff won't last long.

 

im shooting for tens, but i want to see how long i can make this ten bolt last.

usually the weak link is the c clips, and the only thing i really cant upgrade is like you stated, the ring and pinion. but if i shred the teeth on that, i will just go pickup a 12bolt or sumpin.

 

The c-clips don't break but if you break an axle, the c-clips don't hold the broken part in.

The rules state that an axle retention device must be used. Normally this means bolt in axles like a Ford 9", Dana diffs, BW 9 bolt or using c-clip eliminators on the GM diffs.

By the rules, having rear disk brakes qualifys because the caliper will keep the axle from coming out of the housing if it breaks.

I ran my old 10 bolt down into the low to mid 11's but it was beefed up slightly. I switched to a 9" when I installed a transbrake because I didn't think the tiny R&P would take more than one hit off the transbrake. Manual transmissions doing a high rpm clutch drop have destroyed the tiny diff in 13 second cars.

My 9" has Strange 31 spline spool and axles. I'm getting close to the limits of 31 spline but they're still surviving. Jumping up to 35 spline gets expensive.

 

i do have disc brakes, and since im running an auto, their isnt as much shock off the line. so i think im gonna test the limits of this ten bolt.

 

you can make the c clip eliminator work from the bigger 10 bolt, you just need to make a new hole or two.