TransAM Joe

iTrader: (6)

Anybody having luck finding posi cones and springs for the 9 bolt. I have contacted 4 different Australian compaines multiple times whom supposedly carried these items and gotten no response. By searching and finding the group purchase for these items that looks to have headed south I am not very hopeful of getting these. Any info would be great.

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

Do a search on here for board member Larry Burd. He sells shims for the nine bolt posi cones. He also has info on how to go about milling your existing cones, along with the shimming operation, to make the posi work properly again.

TransAM Joe

iTrader: (6)

Thanks Pat, I'm aware of this procedure and is what I plan on doing when I tear the rear apart soon. I would also like to find the cones and springs in case needed, but that may be wishing to much.

RPOL98

wow, sounds kinda bleak. the outlook for 9 bolt parts, that is.

I worry that when mine goes, I'm looking at a 12-bolt price tag. major dinero.

duckmanquacker

I'd just go with a 4th gen axle. much cheapr then aftermarket 12 bolt

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

Yeah, I feel for you 9 bolt guys when it comes to finding new parts. It'd almost be easier to find Jimmy Hoffa. Hey Duckman, the 4th gen axle is an affordable option. However, if your motor is putting out a significant amount of power, say above 400 HP, the Moser 12 bolts are wayyyy stouter than the 4th gen rear. 4th gen rears are identical to our 3rd gen units strengthwise. By the time you finish upgrading a 7.5" 10 bolt rear, you've damn near paid for the Moser 12 bolt, and even with all the upgrades you can think of, it still isn't near as strong. The 12 bolts are almost on par with a Ford 9 inch. I have a factory 12 bolt under my 69 Camaro that I've hammered on with a 4-speed manual for almost 20 years now, and it's never even flinched.

duckmanquacker

good point on the upper HP levels.

heavyduty

When i blew the spider gears that the big pin goes thru i actually used spider gears from a 12 bolt unit..slid right in and never gave me a problem...and it was a factory unit from a 4th gen...

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

No big surprise there. The spider gears aren't all that crucial as far as strength is concerned. The reason the 12 bolts are so much stronger is that the ring gear is 8-7/8" in diameter compared the the 3rd and 4th gen's puny 7.625" ring gear. Just for kicks, I took a 12 bolt ring/pinion gear, and a 7.625" ring/pinion, and set them side by side on the workbench to compare the difference. It was like comparing dump truck parts to tinkertoys. Even the carrier itself was huge compared to the other one. That is interesting to know that they're the same size though. Makes me wonder if the 8.5" 10 bolt spiders are the same too. Another Achilles heel with the 7.5" carrier is the puny size bolt that holds the center pin (5/16" head). It's a 1/2" headed bolt on the 12 bolt carrier. There's always threads on here where another poor soul has snapped the center pin bolt trying to remove it.

John in RI

iTrader: (167)

One a spring clean-up this season I opened up 7-8 open 7.5 10 bolt rear ends to swipe the gears before ditching the housings. I broke 2 pin-bolts out of the rears I was working with.... & lost both gear sets as a result.

I've saved all the 9-bolts I come across ( even the 2.77's ) just because finding new parts is usually a real PITA when you need them !!

Good to hear the Larry is still dealing with the shims.............

TransAM Joe

iTrader: (6)

The parts are available for the 9 bolts, it's just getting the Australians to ship the stuff over hear. I finally talked with a guy in Sydney he was all fine until I wanted him to ship the stuff to the US, he just turned me off like a light switch. It's not worth there time to help one person out. My next approach is to become a distributor of there parts, we'll see. I will let you guys know of any updates.

Yeah I hear ya on the 4th gen rear swap or the 12 bolt swap, just trying to keep the car as numbers/original matching as possible. Not worried about making the internals better, but like to keep the housing, engine block etc. original.

TransAM Joe

iTrader: (6)

Alright guys maybe this will put the cone availability to rest. Just got off the phone with Dana/Spicer AUS (They bought out Borg Warner AUS) and they told me cones for the M 78 aka Warner 9 bolt as we know it are no longer available. BUT Dana makes a replacement posi carrier that will drop in our 9 bolts and includes everything except pinon gear and install kit. They also said you need a special additive for the different type of posi and a special pinion seal. They gave me over to the sole distributor Motospecs in AUS so I need to contact them for pricing and availablity. Just got word of a post two years ago on here about a member who did this to his TA and got the parts from Motospecs, he quoted $540 USD shipped and no trouble with install or performance. Not to bad, cheaper than going with another rear end.

RPOL98

I wonder what the Aussie's do to hop up the performance of their 9-bolt rear ends. I figure since it's native to their country, and they have a native hot-rod industry, that maybe some combo of entrepreneur, ingenuity, etc happened.
heck, there's all kinds of limited slip diffs for other imports.

well, they probably have the equivalent of a Holden 12-bolt swap out. answered my own question...

kenbob

Hey guys I know this is an old thread but I just purchased new cones from 9bolt.com and they were here in two weeks totally awesome! And if you have any questions ask Glenn he runs 9bolt.com he took it over after the first guy made a horrible reputation for the site but now it is being ran by a stand up guy that will go out of his way to help you or even find you rare gears i.e. factory 3.70's or 3.90's

GeneralDisorder

iTrader: (1)

Good luck with that junk. I bought a rebuilt 3 series carrier from Glenn and it was a horrible POS. Noises, turned the gear oil to metallic paint. Just complete crap.

Put in a Torsen carrier from Supa-F Spares (also Australia), and never looked back.

The cone type is garbage, and the manufacturer (who would know best because they engineered it) is ABSOLUTELY RIGHT that they cannot, and should not be rebuilt. After close inspection of the rebuilt product as well as several used examples I must concur. The results of the attempt will not be worth having I can assure you. And in any case the Torsen is vastly superior to even a functioning cone type. I have two wheel peel on command, and absolutely perfect low speed manners. And my gear oil is clean.

You are aware that the 2.77 carrier will not accept 3.xx gears right? You need a 3 series carrier for those cones. But any 3 series you find is likely to be garbage. I bought one used and it was already toast. Rebuilding is futile. I dumped a level wheelbarrow load of money down that rabbit hole and I sure wish I had known about the mis-information and the availability of the Torsen before I did.

GD

scooter

iTrader: (11)

I shaved the cones to get more life out of my carrier and it has worked pretty well. I glued an old hard drive magnet in the bottom of the housing and I change the fluid every other oil change. Not sure how long it will last, but I think the key is changing the fluid frequently since the housing and cones are wear items, if you don't change the fluid frequently, you get the metallic paint looking oil. Next time I change the gear oil, I think I am going to try to get an inspection camera in there to check out the cone wear and see if there is a lot of build up on the magnet.
I've put about 14000 miles on my car since I put the 4.8 in and did the rear axle refresh and it is OK so far. Hope to get another 10-20k miles out of it still being a posi before i get the gear style carrier.

GeneralDisorder

iTrader: (1)

The one I got from Glenn made horrible creaking noises and binding in slow speed parking lot turns. I'm sure the lifespan of a rebuild depends on "factors" but the stated "expert" on these rebuilt the one I used and it was trash IMO. I tore it down after I swapped in the Torsen and the 5,000 miles I put on it absolutely trashed the "new" cones he installed in it. Filled my whole axle with metallic paint and after doing all bearings, seals, and very carefully setting up my 3.70 gears I was NOT amused.

GD

kenbob

The main issue is the type and viscosity of gear oil Glenn also covers this in the tech section. I'm sorry that your diff didn't work for you but I'm running 3.70's and new cones but I also have two 3 series carriers and both were almost bottomed out but haven't been that way for long so I got the standard measurements from Borg Warner and the old cones took all the wear so the new cones fit great

GeneralDisorder

iTrader: (1)

I'm running 3.70's also. Trust me if you drive it hard it's not going to last worth a damn. I tried all manner of gear oils and additives per Glenn. Nothing worked and this was a carrier Glenn built personally and shipped to me. And yes it was installed per his directions using his recommended fluid and additives. The gear setup didn't change between the cone type and my Torsen and I have NO ISSUES so it's not my setup. I own a performance shop with a 2000 HP chassis dyno, am a former software engineer, and I KNOW what I'm doing.

The cone type diffs are garbage and do not stand up to hard driving. I'm sorry that you want to believe this and have to find out the hard way but such is life I guess. Do youself a favor and sell that JUNK on ebay - get a Torsen carrier and be DONE with it.

GD

kenbob

Oh yeah I forgot to mention I don't beat on my car I've only put 1500 miles on it since 2010 it's all original and only has 90,000 original miles I baby the hell out of my Bird I don't beat on her like most do

keykey

Buy a Torsen from SupaFSpares and I promise you, you won't look back and miss your horrible cone diff... Best mod I've done to my GTA. And you can beat on it like hell and have fun with it without worrying about a glass rear end, just like you're supposed to with a muscle car