guys, the 12 bolt arrived from moser yesterday......6 days from order to delivery thats pretty sick.....

that was the good news.....the bad news is it seems as if there is quite a bit of work involved to get this thing going. the caliper brackets need machining to fit according to the paper that came with the rear end, and the axle bearing dont come pressed on to the housing. thats kinda gay.

wtf! this is supposed to be a "bolt-in rear end" Bolt in and machining do not belong in the same sentence. im kinda pissed about that.

in any case, this thing is c*ck diesel.....the pumpkin is large by huge, and the axle tubes are like 3" OD, and the axles are 33 splines, 1.513" OD.... its pretty nasty. i cant wait to install the thing next week.

its got, 33 spline custom alloy axles
33 spline eaton posi
t/a peformance girdle cover
richmond 4.10 gears
ford type axle retention (no c-clips)
1350 series yoke
heavy duty bearings etc.

anyone had to do this, and can decode the japanese stereo instruction directions on the paper that comes with the rear? i swear whoever wrote this thing and drew the picture was about 12 shots of jager deep

 

I got mine from Strange with the same configuration (33 spline and 4.10 gears)

I actually got so pissed off with the directions and the disc brake thing that I went to a junkyard and got a rear from a v6 4th gen.

The backing plates (when massaged with a round file) will fit on the end of the axle housing and I used the drum brakes from the v6. The rear bitch of it all was re-using the e-brake cables from the 3rd gen car.....was not easy. Oh, don't forget if you use 4th gen stuff, you are going to have to re-flare the end of the brak lines.

Bolt in. Yeah that's a good one!

 

the drum brake setup absolutely wont fit on this thing.

and the disc brake stuff will all be circa 1987 3rd gen stuff

 

I bought the strange 12 bolt and only had one problem with the brakes (besides needing longer caliper bolts - easy $5 fix).

I had the Baer 12" rear system and it didn't fit. The calipers fit (they are the same 1 piston PBR calipers for all 1989-2002 f-bodies), but the rotors were too big (11.65" is the rotor size stock). So I ordered the stock 11.65" rotors new and sold my old cross-drilled rotors and caliper mounting brackets on this board's for sale section - net cost was $50 out of pocket.

If you have drums, you are screwed - you will need to change everything. If you have the 10.5" rear discs the same applies. If you have a 9 or 10 bolt with the PBR calipers, all you will need is longer caliper mounting bolts and that's it. No grinding or anything, just a switchover. This is for the Strange 12 bolt.

The rear I bought had the c-clip eliminator kit so the caliper brackets were already there and no re-flaring was neccessary.

I guess luck was on my side.

 

daym..only 6 days...mine took like 2 weeks.

we almost have the same setup jus the gearing is different. also it seems that you have the drum setup. to make things easier id jus convert the rear to disc and use the backing plate from the disc setup. than again i dont know how ur financial situation is but it'd make things way easier. the disc setup has the backing plate in which the wheel bearing is suppose to slide right thru. with the wheel bearing thru put the silver lookn retainer right over and this holds the bearing in place. i dont think urs should be ne different but to be safe refer to ur instructions. here some pics of how mine looks like. hope this helps.

 

Borla,

that helps tremendously.....you cant see any of that in the drawing they give you. did you have to machine the hole in the bracket bigger? Or just do it with a die grinder or what have you?

i know my brakes will be a little different....im using the pre 88 disc setup because the parts are way cheaper....the bracket may be slightly different im not sure. now that i see how it goes together though it makes it much easier. I dont think i will have any problems doing that now.

did you have to use a spacer or anything? it said some sh*t about that on the instruction sheet

383

 

oh ya,

how about those red tin seals....im assuming those are inner seals and tap into place inside the housing ends. i could be wrong though......

you would think for 2300 bucks it would come fully assembled or at least have complete instructions with measured drawings, and not require any damn machining

 

yup tha hole in the bracket has to be honed, bigger alongs the bearing goes thru. a machinest honed my brackets. i wasnt there with him but he did it for free. alongs the hole is big enough for the bearing.

and the spacer part. i dont recall ever using a spacer.

those red inner seals are suppose to keep the fluid from reaching the wheel bearing. basically keeps the fluid in the pumpkin. it also suppose to prevents leaks. thats what the rearend shop told me. i have those seals installed in mine.

 

and the 2300 dollar part...i totally agree. you still gotta do some of your own work jus to get the damn thing in. DAMN AFTERMARKET PARTS

 

ya "bolt in" 12 bolt housing for 82-92 f-body.



it is a high quality part dont get me wrong....im just pissed at the vagueness and the amount of work. i could probably hone the hole out myself at the shop depending how much bigger it needs to get.

the instructions say something about making a counterbore on the brake bracket 3.150" or something to a depth of .110"

the "alternative" method says just make the whole thing 3.150" all the way through, and then you need a 1/8" shim between the brake plate and the retainer plate.

 

That sucks about the fab work needed for a "bolt-on" rear!!

I had a question for you moser and strange guys.

Is the rear end the same total length of a 3rd gen rear, or is it a couple inches wider like a 4th gen rear? The reason why I'm asking is, I want to run 17 x 11 ZR-1 wheels in the back, but I don't want to use a spacer. A 4th gen rear would work without a spacer, but the 3rd gen is like 1 1/2 in. to short on each side, hence requiring a spacer.

Please let me know!

Mike (1bad91Z)

 

Same width as stock.You could order the rear for the fourth gen body and not need the spacers.Order it minus ABS and you are good to go.

 

I have exactly the same Moser rearend that you bought. My bolted in very easy. I bought the brake kit that Moser sells and it was very easy to install, I have drums on the back. The Moser drum brake kit for the 12 bolt w/ 9in ends is actually a brake setup for a 70's Torino. The drums came fully assembled so all I had to do was bend a couple of new metal brake lines to hook them up. But maybe yours is more difficult since you have disc brakes. You might want to look into buying the disc brake kit that Moser sells made for it if you haven't already.

 

i have drum brakes....but i wasnt about to spend the absorbitent amount of money to buy any aftermarket brake setup right now.

im using all OEM stuff for an 87 with disc brakes. i can get all the stuff calipers, rotors, e brake cables, proportioning block etc for about 200 bucks

 

So from what you are sying it does not "bolt in" at all huh! I was looking at the Moser one and i plan on using my stock rear disc brakes, what exactly needs to be done to get it to "bolt in"? You have to enlarge some bracket holes and what else? Don't you have to grind down the pan hard rod too, or no? I think i read that somewhere too. Sorry but i think i missed your whole conversation. lol I'm pretty tired and should come back to this in the morning. If you spell it out for my like i am mentally retarded, i won't feel embarassed, i swear. Thanks for your help guys and good luck with the install. later

 

i never had to grind my panhard rod. its prolly a myth.

 

If you have the peformance diff cover (i do) moser says that there could be a clearance issue with the heads of the load bolts, and if there is to just grind the head of the load bolt for clearance.

if you already have a stock disc brake setup it should be pretty easy to do, you just need to enlarge the hold in the caliper bracket for the axle bearing to fit through.....

if i can find a way to attach that thing to my metal lathe i'll make it fit myself.

 

u dont need to grind away at the load bolts. well at least i never had to.

 

Alright, that is what i was thinking. The performance cover, right, with the TA on it and aluminum looking instead of the chrome cover? I just "heard" that it could be a problem. The bolt holes do not seem too bad, if like you said you have the factory disc brakes. Any other problems while installing it BORLAZ06? Roughly how long did it take. I'm expecting to have the car down for the weekend. I am planning on doing a new fuel pump as well as some other suspension parts. You know, while the whole thing is a part anyway. Thanks for the help guys.

 

if you have everything ready to go in like axles with the bearings pressed on etc, it should be an afternoon project....i have some lift bar fabrication to do so im in it for about 4 days i think lol.

 

hah..it took me like 6 days. i had to work on it here and there cuz of work..i didnt know what i had coming my way. if i can do it all over again. it'll be a couple hrs but oh well. i had to learn the hard way.

and the panhard bar...i have an aftermarket one so it clears the housing. id jus buy an aftermarket one

 

I agree a $2000 + bolt on part that needs a lot of mods, your own brakes and to top it off, it isn't even painted. After looking at all of that, I stuck with my BW 9-bolt.

 

I just ordered a 12 bolt from strange. They called back and offered to sell me Baer Touring setup as well (cheaper than direct from Baer) and install them on the housing. When I get the rearend it will have the brakes on it, to include braided lines, parking brake cables... They said that this is new; they are working with Baer to get brakes. Hope it works out in my favor!!

 

If you don't mind me asking honez28, how much was it, or should i say, how much should i be expected to shell out for your combo? I believe the Moser and Strange rears are very close to price. thanks

 

The rearend, with an Eaton Posi upgrade, is $2195 without shipping. They are going to order the brakes from Baer on Monday, so I don't have an exact cost. She thought it would be around $800 for the drilled/slotted touring. I will post the exact amount monday.

 

mine was about 2300.....

housing, add 33 spline axles, performance cover, richmond gears your up there pretty quick

im in the process of setting up the rear for the SSM lift bars now...should have it in the car tomorrow...then i have to pull it back out to finish weld and paint it.

 

So, how'd it go? I am about to order mine up with Hawks if this GP goes through! Do you like the rear now that it is installed? Also, how is the noise, if there is much at all? Sorry for the questions 383backinblack. later

 

its in the car and performing excellently, havent had any problems with it at all. there is a little gear noise, but its impossible to have super strong gears that dont make noise. it doesnt bother me though. you have to be willing to live with that if you need the strength

 

Thats good to hear! So, there were no more fitment issues then? I am thinking the car will be down for a weekend because i am also doing a fuel pump too. It shouldn't be too bad!

 

well it will be alot easier to drop the tank with the rear out of the car......

as far as fitment goes, as long as your setup is mostly stock, you shouldnt have a problem at all.....my problem was caused by the tailshaft housing on my tremec TKO being slightly longer, and causeing the stock length driveshaft to be too long.....

you need to use an f-body disc brake setup with it, the drums wont work. if you already have discs, then its not a big deal to do.

the other issue i had was getting the south side machine lift bars to fit, as they were originally intended to fit on 10 bolt axle tubes, not the gigantic 3" OD 12 bolt axle tubes, i had to do some careful resizing for that and it took a long time. that shouldnt be a problem for most people though

 

Sounds good man. I have the 3.23 disc rear now so, swapping the brakes over shouldn't be too bad. Thanks for your time-later

 

Wow, I'm bookmarking this page, because I'm doing something similar, and I'll need some reference material to see when I hit a dead end.

 

Wouldn't it just be cheaper to buy an 89 9 bolt rear end with the pbr brakes, and completely rebuild it? Wouldn't it be just as strong? If I recall on 9 bolt.com you could make that 9 bolt handle just as much as the 12 bolt and for less money...

Used rear end with brakes and proportioning valve - $350.00

Complete b*tchin performance parts rebuild - $1,200

$1,550.00 compared to $2,300 + brakes + machine work? Of course I am only running around 450hp, but I was jsut wondering, because it sounds like a lot of work.

James

 

it's not the power that will destroy the 9 and 10 bolts, it's hooking on that much power!

 

The guys over at 9bolt are running a 500hp BBC with no problems. I heard a properly built 9 bolt can take low 10's with little to no issues. But than again I am hoping for 12's, not 10's

James

 

your right it can.....but a properly built 12-bolt with 33-spline or larger axles can handle launches hard enough to a push a 3500lb car into the eights without much worry.

9-bolts are strong factory rear ends.....but they are no where near as tough as an aftermarket 12 bolt with high strength gears and large alloy axles.

the gears in the 12 bolt are bigger, which is one of the major determinants of differential strength.

besides, the 9 bolt COULD handle that kind of power.....but i doubt it will last 1,000 years like that.....at these power levels my rear will most likely not break (it could, but it probably wont)

I've had 9 bolts apart, and the parts are WAY smaller than those in a 12 bolt......besides 9 bolt parts are really expensive, especially gears.

besides those are highly modified custom built 9 bolts with.....the moser 12 bolt i have is basically an off the shelf rear end, with wide and easy parts availability.

its just a much bigger differential and is therefore stronger.....besides the axles have 10 year warranty...for breakage due to excessive power.....if you make too much power and snap and axle....moser will replace them with the next spline count such as 35's, then 40's etc for free....granted you have to pay for the hardware to fit the larger axles.....but if you break an axle that big, you need it anyways

 

Well, would this be a good rule of thumb?

10 bolt - stock
Stock 9 bolt - high 12's
Built 9 bolts to high 10's
12 bolt for anything below?

 

a good rule of thumb is to use the strongest parts you can use....which usually means the strongest parts you can afford.

but the cost of a heavily built 9 bolt vs. a built 12-bolt is gonna be about the same by the time you get done anyways