alright i just got a set of motive 3.42 gears that look to be brand new. but i also got a carrier but i would like to know how i can tell what it is. if it is a 3-series carrier and if it is a limited slip or open differential carrier. i can get the #'s off the part but i didnt know if there was a way i could tell from looking at it what it is or not. also where would i go to run the #'s on the part to see what it is? the guy i got it from said it was a 3-series posi carrier but i want to verify it b4 i start getting ready to install it.

btw the 3.42's are for sale if anyone is interested. i just need to find out info on this carrier though.

 

the clutch pack is a good clue if it's a posi carrier or not, or the cones in place of the clutch pack. do a search on here and you'll find pics and pics of a 2 and 3 series.

 

i dont know anything about rearend parts. this is the first carrier i have seen outside of the rear end. i just started in the go fast department and im still young and have alot to learn.

but i did search these forums some and i couldnt find any pictures, but i can take certain pictures of the carrier that i have, could you tell what kind it is from the pictures? if that would work lmk and i will take some.

 

heres a couple pictures of my carrier. if there is a site i can use to pull the numbers off the part that would be great. b/c i need to know what series carrier i need to know if its posi or non posi and i need to find out what spline axles it is for... but heres a couple pics.

 

anyone...? a place where i can run the #'s and find out info on it would be great.

 

that is a gov-lock posi rearend...it's a bit weaker than the eaton style, but should work for your application mike. couldn't tell ya from those pics if it's a 2 or 3 series carrier though...

i'll trade ya work for those 3.42's.

 

how can i tell if its 3 series? and how could i tell if its for 26 or 28 spline axles?

i would just like to find a site or somewhere where i can put in the part # from the carrier and find out some info on it. ill try and search yahoo for the #'s and see what i can find b/c i dont know for sure anything about it. the guy said it was a 7.5 10 bolt posi carrier. i dont know anything for sure about it though.

btw there is a ring gear still on it but it is chipped on one spot.

 

That's an Eaton Gov-Lock, affectionately known by the off-road people as the Grenade-Lock. Looks like a 3 series one to me but it's hard to be sure, I can't see how far the ring gear flange is from the carrier bearing on that side. It was designed for light trucks with 4- and 6-cylinder motors in off-road usage where there's no traction, and is NOT suitable for use on pavement behind anything with any significant power.

It is just about the ulitmate trash. Don't put it in your car. You'll find yourself walking to work. Ask the guy who also had to replace his gas tank, when his exploded and the shrapnel from it put a hole in the tank.

Those 2 little weights are what makes it work. It acts like an open rear, until the difference between the speeds of the 2 axles exceeds some RPM (about 100 or 150 IIRC.... enough that it would result only from uncontrolled one-wheel spin). At that point, it then locks up with a bang. If this happens on pavement, especially with tires that get traction, parts break and fly out.

I don't know what info you could possibly be looking for that "numbers" and "codes" could tell you. Just knowing what model it is, is enough to positively identify that it doesn't belong in a performance car.

Sell it to somebody that blew theirs up in their S truck and needs another one.

You tell whether it's 2 series or 3 series by looking at the back side of the ring gear flange, around the ring gear bolts. If it's 2 series, thet whole surface is almost flat. If it's 3 series, it's noticeably cone-shaped; theres about .350" or so of difference. You tell whether it's for 26- or 28-spline axles by counting the splines. If there's 26, then guess which axles will fit it; and if there's 28, well, you get the point.

If the ring gear has a chip in it, then that's not worth anything either.

I hope you didn't pay anything for it. In order to accept delivery of it, I would require that someone pay me to take it off their hands, to compensate me for the trouble of disposing of it (the garbage service here won't take stuff like that). If you paid anything, even $1, you got ripped off IMO.

 

well dang i guess its not a good unit huh? i got it from a guy who was using it in a camaro and didnt have any problems with it.. what kind of cars did these come in?

btw my car isnt going to be real fast so i dont need a super super strong unit but i do want something decent and if this is a piece of junk like you say then i wont use it. do you have any personal expirience with this type of posi unit?

 

Not me personally; but I know a couple of people that have exploded them in S-10s. One of which I did see personally.

Here's what happens to them. https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...lock-posi.html Search this guy's userID, I think he posted a pic of the contents of his differential housing after the event he mentioned. It was severely spectacular.

They'll last OK if they're never "used"; that is, if there's never any power put to them that makes a wheel spin, and makes them actually perform their function. Which means, drive it as if it was an open rear; because, it is. It is totally "unlocked", that is, open, until that magic RPM threshold is reached.

Check out the S-10 truck boards for feedback. I think you'll decide against it.

 

2 series gears are 3.08 and down. 3 series are 3.23 and up. (aftermarket vendors make them for a specific carriers, though) The 3 series gear is a little thinner and can fit a 2 series carrier with a spacer, but not the other way around. To tell if you have a 2 or 3 series carrier stick the posi on end with the flange in the air, or ring gear teeth facing down, and measure up to the ring gear mounting flange from the ground and you get the following measurement (using a tape measure).

2 series = 5 1/4"
3 series = 4 7/8"

You can see the 3 series gear would have to be thinner in order to reach the pinion. 2 series gears CANNOT work in a 3 series carrier, but a 3 series gear can work in a 2 series carrier with a spacer.

Here is a picture of my posi that came out of an 87.

 

Sofakingdom's advice was pretty blunt and to the point, and it's definitely right on the money! Run any posi unit but a gov-lock! Eaton, Auburn, or Zexel-Torsen. Any of these units are leagues better than that one. The gov-locks are actually made by Eaton too, but their clutch style posi carriers are FAR superior to it. BTW, if you sell it on ebay, you can actually make pretty good money on it. I sold one on there a few months ago to some poor fool for $165.

 

I'm running into this problem now (identifying which series carrier it is). I was looking for a 3 series posi carrier on ebay and a lot of them do not have the gears with them. The owner doesn't even know which gears it came with. It would be great to find out how to ID the empty carrier instead of taking a seller's word for it. I've run into this issue at swap meets as well.

 

Hey Rich, Z-28 Crossfire's tip is a good way to tell the difference. If you've looked at enough of them like I have, you can usually tell just looking at them. If you look at the side of the carrier where the ring gear bolts up, look at the cone where the side bearing is pressed on. On a 2 series carrier the portion between the bearing cone and the ring gear flange is almost perfectly flat. On a 3 series carrier the casting angles upwards from the bearing cone to the ring gear flange. 2 series gearsets have a large pinion, so the ring gear has to be more towards the end of the carrier, whereas a 3 series gearset has a smaller diameter pinion, so the ring gear has to be moved more towards the center of the carrier, hence the angle from the side bearing cone to the ring gear flange. I probably couldn't tell between a 3 and 4 series carrier with the naked eye, but 2/3 series isn't hard to tell. Comes in handy if you don't have a ruler or tape measure with you!