I thought i knew the answers but I have heard so many different things from so many different people. I have an 84 camaro with a 10 bolt rear. I have a center chunk with welded spider gears and 4.56s and was wondering will it swap right in. In tips in doing so? Thanks

 

the best tip is the one you don't want: DON"T DO IT! It's definitely going to fail sooner or later. I did it to my '88 with 3.73s, and only got away with it for a few weeks.

 

You have a 7.5" 10 bolt and should have 26 spline axles. If the lincoln locker you have is for a 7.5" 10 bolt and has 26 spline side gears then it will fit right in. Installing it is no different than changing any other carrier (posi). If it's for a 8.2 or 8.5" 10 bolt then you can't use it.

I ran one with 28 spline axles for a couple of years before finally installing a 9" with a full spool. I don't recommend using it on the street. The one I had was professionally welded up with high nickle rods.

 

My welds didn't break, either.

 

Running a welded differential is dangerous. The welds will change the heat treat in the gears and make them brittle. If the gears break then the axles will come out and you may have a serious crash. This is why NHRA banned them a long time ago. It is best to do it right and be safe.

 

The ring gear isn't installed when the spider gears are welded up. As for weakening the spider gears, if you had looked at mine, you couldn't really see the spider gears. Every opening and crack that was accessible was welded up. Gears were welded to gears and gears were welded to the carrier. The chance of the spider gears breaking was minimal. The center pin and c-clips are still used to hold the axles in.

 

The likely hood of the welds not holding is high, the likely hood of a stock c-clip axles breaking is just as higher, and 4.56 gears in the 7.5" 10-bolt are very likely to break. The likely hood of catastrophic failure is high, and could easily result in much bigger problems. I wouldn't do it.

read the quote in my sig...