1990 Camaro RS

3.1L V6 Auto Tranny

3.23 gears

Is my axle 7.5in or 7.625 inches?

I want to upgrade to a 3.73 and i might have found something but I want to make sure that it will work.

Heres the link to the ad:


http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/pts/1533710859.html

 

From what I understand, the S10 and Camaro/Firebird rears all had the same chunk, unless of course you have the Borg/Warner 9 bolt differential. Someone who has actually taken apart the rears will have to answer definitely.

If you have the 9 bolt diff, which only came behind the more powerful cars in the late 80's early 90's, then nothing will be the same. The Borg Warner 9 bolt is supposed to be stronger than the standard 10 bolt rear, although I am sure it isn't by a whole lot. If anyone with a 9 bolt rear had to have warranty work on the rear, they replaced it with a Dana 44.

 

Its a 10 bolt rear main, so they should be interchangeable?

 

That seems like a lot of work to still have an open rear and drums....

 

If you swap the whole axle, yes. But the parts of each are not interchangeable.


Most 9-bolts are posi & disc.....

 

A S10 axle will not bolt in your 3rd gen, without a lot of fabrication work, for the torque arm. No idea if the axle width is anywhere near the same, but that would be another point to consider, when swapping axles.

 

So I cant just take the ring an pinion gears out of the S-10 axle and put them in mine?

 

Sorry.....I was under the impression you wanted the entire rear axle.

I thought the 3rd gen 10-bolts were 7.5" though?

 

Thats what im trying to find out, if its a 7.5in or a 7.625 in some of them are both and i dont know what mine is, its a 10 bolt but i just dont know I guess it wouldnt hurt to get the whole axle but it would be pretty interesting to get it home, the guy wont ship, and its about 1 and a half hours away from me, but its only 50 bucks....lol

 

Your 90 is 7.625 (introduced in 86).

JamesC

 

It doesn't matter whether they're 7.5 or 7.625, the only difference between the two is a tiny change in the size of the gears themselves. As long as you've got the right pinion carrier, it'll work.

 

So should the axle off this 99 S-10 work?

 

Well ive been fine without posi so far....and my drums work fine so i dont really care, i just want a 3.73 gear!

 

The gears would work, the whole axle wouldn't.

 

What I meant was, that is a lot of work for hardly any improvement. The cash could be spent on just gears and save a lot of hassle. S10s have leaf springs, so I'm not even sure how that would work..... Lots of work to still have a one tire fire.
Go to eBay motors and type "3.73 10 bolt" and you'll see 4 auctions under $50, 2 with no bids. Find a 4th gen posi for about the same price. Here's one for $0.99!

 

Jensen.....I think I love you

 

Well wait, lol what else would I need should I get this? This is just the posi end of it right? not the full rear end?

I know nothing about this subject matter......

 

oh sorry, i forgot to call NO HOMO! lol

 

....you can reuse your existing 10 bolt.
3.73s
differential (posi)
install kit (summit racing or someplace. ~$25 for all the little bolts & crap)
gear oil
gasket
Everything else is optional.

I threw in Moser axles, and a TA aluminum cover for extra strength. I'm a cheap ***, so I live by the "build it once, build it right" rule. But since I am a cheap ***, I don't think "built right" has to mean expensive. There's nothing wrong with eBay/junkyard parts, as long as they are decent parts to begin with.