i took my cover off and i was really suprised. my car has a 3.23 ring and it doesnt look like the other carriers ive seen from my other cars, is this the stock axle or has it been changed, also what kinda power can a 10 bolt chevy take before you destroy stuff, i plan on running 3.73 gears

 

Looks like a stock posi 10 bolt.

 

is it a eaton or a auburn

and since it has 3.23 gears in it. does that make it a 2 or 3 series. it looks to have the 83z upgrade option for 3.23 gears

 

That's the old lightweight Auburn that came stock in these cars. You can kind of tell how lightweight it is, by the pressure plates for the clutches (the plate looking things that the springs press on) is bent by the spring pressure.

The gears are the same series as the carrier, but I can't tell from the pic what series it is, because of the angle that it's looking in at. So if you're sure it's REALLY a 3.23 (which it might well be, since 3.23 has a 13-tooth pinion, which that looks about like), then it's 3 series.

 

hey your right that plate is bent i didnt even see that. kinda blows, it has 3.23 my car has every upgrade option available from the factory except cupholders...err

 

Ummm, no.....

It doesn't have the good motor for that year (L69), and it has a crappy 3.23 gear, as opposed to the 3.73s that the L69 cars came with; and it has the drinking-straw exhaust.

 

well on the interior theres alot of the extras, gear could have been worse, its an upgrade on the 700r4. and my ehusts has long been gone, headman

 

Some reading for you, when I was asking these same questions, with my auburn and 3.23 gears:
*key note, sofakingdom said I had a 2 series. So far that's the only opinion or thoughts i've had on it, so i'm thinking I have a 2 series with my 3.23 gears*

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...e-removal.html
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...r-removal.html
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...t-rebuild.html

https://webdisk.ucalgary.ca/~jmknopp...nd%20small.jpg

https://webdisk.ucalgary.ca/~jmknopp.../axle/case.JPG

 

A 2 series pinion is MUCH larger diameter than a 3 series one. Remember, the gear ratio is not only the ratio of the tooth count, but also the ratio of the diameters of the 2 gears; and since the ring gear is always the same size, 7½" in the case of these rears, that means that the pinion shrinks as the ratio gets larger. So, if you imagine starting out with a REALLY low number ratio, then you'll have this GIGANTIC pinion; so you have to locate the flange on the ring gear that the pinion bolts to, far enough away from the pinion centerline, to accomodate it. Then, imagine that you go to a little higher ratio, and a littlel higher, and a little higher; each time, the pinion gets smaller, meaning the ring has to get thicker; until eventually, the ring is SO THICK that it's very costly to make. At that point, the factory will make a break in the "series" of ratios, and make a carrier with the ring gear flange closer to the pinion CL. Then the ring will be thin for that ratio again, and as teh ratio continues to step up, the ring will get thicker and thicker and thicker again.

Look at these pics, and see how the flange for the ring, is sort of flat on the bottom on the one on the left, and more conical on the one on the right. The one on the left is 2 series; the one on the right is 3 series, with the ring mounted about .350" closer to the pinion CL than the one on the left.

 

Incidentally, the carriers in the pic are both later-model Auburns. The one on the left is a normal stock one, and the one on the right is the high-perf one you'd spend $400 on (notice the extra springs, and the thicker pressure plate, and the corresponding increase in clutch pressure). Also note, that in both of these, the carrier doesn't "neck down" at the ends, where the clutches are, unlike that older one. The result being, there's that much more space up in there for clutch discs, and so the clutches are QUITE A BIT larger in the later ones than that old one. All of those details add up to a MUCH STOUTER unit. Those early ones are super weak, and notorious for the clutches wearing out, because there's so little clutch to them.

 

That's an awesome description, thank you. I had to reread it a few times, and tilt my head funny, but I think I got it down now.

So, assuming the 2 series, and 3 series ring gears are the same thickness, that means you can take your 2.73 gear set with factory posi, (common combination) and throw in 3.73 gears. Now your ring is too far away from the pinion, since the 2 series carrier is the "shorter" style, so rather than getting a thick 3.73 ring gear, or a 3 series carrier, you can use your stock 2 series posi with a spacer? If i'm understanding this right?
I'm just wondering if that's a feasible solution.

 

Those light brown spots make me think that moisture got in your axle. You might want to find out why, and fix it (breather, seals, gasket etc).

 

Yes that is correct. You can buy a spacer here to put a 3 series gear onto a 2 series carrier. You can't go the OTHER way though (2 series gear ontop a 3 series carrier), unless you know where to find a spacer that TAKES SPACE OUT, instead of PUTTING SPACE IN. I used to get those at the same store that had the square drill bits and the bolts with an offset in them that allowed a starter for 12.8" flywheel to fit on a block that only has the 14" pattern; but they closed.

 

the cover had never been taken off in 23 years, it was half out of oil and there was some metal in there, all better for now i still dont know what i want to do so i refilled it with new gasket and put some oil in it. ill do something eventually, i have a set of never used brand new smelling richmonds 3.73's i got them back in april from a tgo member.