I plan on swapping my ring and pinoin in my 87 Trans Am in the near future. It's got a 2.77 axle ratio now, and I'd like to up it to a 3.73. I've seen some short articles online about how to do it, but does anyone know of any good sites that go into detail. I'd like to know such things as the proper backlash, correct pinion depth, etc. I'm not sure, but I think that the kit I'm planning to buy comes with a video, but I could be wrong. I'd like to research as much as possible before I dive in. I just love how the Haynes Manuals can tell you how to rebuild the entire engine, but can't tell you how to swap gears!

 

To set up a ring & pinion set you must know how to set the pinion depth, bearing preload and backlash. You must know how to read the contact pattern to set the pinion depth. The pinion depth and backlash are set with shims. Setting up a set of gears requires a lot of patients. You must be willing to assemble and disassemble the rear end many times to get it right. There is no one shot way to do it. After 26 years of setting up gears I can usually get it right after about the third try. You should plan on doing it at least 6 times. I have helped many people do this on line. If you want to try it you can send me pictures of the contact pattern and I'll help you get the pinion depth right. That is the hardest part. You will need a few special tools to do the job, like a dial indicator with a magnetic base, a micrometer and some others. Here are some of the tools that I use. http://community.webshots.com/album/55411986qgnRwr

 

You are not going to be swapping 3-series 3:73 gears into that 2-serries 2:77 BW 9-bolt because it will not work. Do a little more reading before making any purchases because you are asking for big PROBLENS.

 

This I realize, after discovering that the BW is a 9-bolt.