What I have in the car:
- Series II open carrier
- 2.56 gears
- 250k miles on everything
What I have on the shelf:
- Series II posi carrier with 2.93 gears from the yard
- 3.42 gears from craigslist
What else will I need? I am assuming I need new bearings and races? Can I press these off myself? Will I have to pay someone to press them off and on? For reference, I have about $450 left in the budget. Carrier was about $80, the 3.42 gears were $40. Maybe I can sell the old carrier and gears later. Let's assume $100 worth of rebuild parts, that leaves about $200 for nitrous. The cheaper I can keep this rear end, the more nitrous I can use to win the Spectacular Failure award. So there's your motivation to help.
I have been referencing this article. I think I can do everything myself, except the bearing pressing. http://knowhow.napaonline.com/how-to-rebuild-a-gm-8-5-10-bolt-rear-differential/
If your near York, Pa you can press the bearings on and off for free.
Let me know what you want for the gears. If the price is right I may be interested when we get to Florida.
Will the 3.42 work on a 2 series?
I thought that you could only go up to 3.08 on a series II carrier?
In reply to Knurled:
I hear the 3.42's will work on a Series 2 with a ring gear spacer, but then I have no posi, and still have pinion bearings to deal with.
In reply to wheels777:
Unfortunately I live in the middle of nowhere, southern IN.
3 series carrier for the 8.5" will fit 2.73 - 5.56 gears, 2 series are the 2.56 and lower numerically gears. Not familiar with a 2.93 gear set for the 10-bolt.
Another thing to watch out for is what axle spline the carrier is for. Cars had 28-spline while trucks used 30-spline. If it is a car, there aren't any cheap 30-spline axles for it, so watch out for that.
Ah, I just realized something - that range is for the 7.5/7.625 diffs. your wagon is a 8.5, so you're good on the series 2. I think the range is something like 2.73 to 5.13 for a series 3 carrier in an 8.5. Only the 2.41 and 2.56 cars would have been series 2 from the factory, I believe.
Edit: 81CP beat me to it. Some wagons had 30 spline, others were 28 from what I've found. Worth checking before you buy anything. Also, my wagon is 2.93 factory gears, so that gearset is out there. It was standard on non-tow package wagons from 1986 to 1989 from what I can tell.
With the number of 8.5s out there in junkyards, I would think you could get one for $100 with the gears and posi already in place.
Is there something custom about the one you have? Like modded to fit a car, or a G-body 8.5 from a 442?
I had a B-body 8.5 with open 3.08s that I couldn't sell for $50 so I junked it.
81cpcamaro wrote:
Another thing to watch out for is what axle spline the carrier is for. Cars had 28-spline while trucks used 30-spline. If it is a car, there aren't any cheap 30-spline axles for it, so watch out for that.
Disagree a bit there... the change from 28 to 30 spline was a model year difference, not a truck/car difference. My Impala SS has 30-spline axles. Plenty of 30-spline junkyard axles.
The wagon rear ends are a couple inches wider than all other 10 bolts, so I could only use one from another wagon. They are also 30 spline, which is basically just 90's B-bodys and trucks. Many wagons came with posi, but not many came with decent gears. So I would be swapping gears anyway.
I think the best gears you could get in a wagon were 3.23 with the tow package. It's rare I see a wagon in the yard, not to mention a tow package. GRM ways to extract and press bearings and races?
curtis73 wrote:
81cpcamaro wrote:
Another thing to watch out for is what axle spline the carrier is for. Cars had 28-spline while trucks used 30-spline. If it is a car, there aren't any cheap 30-spline axles for it, so watch out for that.
Disagree a bit there... the change from 28 to 30 spline was a model year difference, not a truck/car difference. My Impala SS has 30-spline axles. Plenty of 30-spline junkyard axles.
Well, yep, I should have said early cars like the F-body. Didn't realize he had a later wagon.
maschinenbau wrote:
GRM ways to extract and press bearings and races?
take it to harbor freight, use their floor model press when nobody's looking?
maschinenbau wrote:
The wagon rear ends are a couple inches wider than all other 10 bolts, so I could only use one from another wagon. They are also 30 spline, which is basically just 90's B-bodys and trucks. Many wagons came with posi, but not many came with decent gears. So I would be swapping gears anyway.
Yeah, true. Its not the end of the world to swap a sedan rear into the wagon, but even the sedans were still geared pretty high. Best you could really do is a 3.08. I think there was a really rare way to get 3.42 in the wagons with the tow package, but good luck finding one in a yard. My camping neighbor up here had a 94 wagon with posi and a 3.42 gearset. I had to double check the SPID, but it really was a 3.42. But, he worked for GM for 35 years so he may have called in a favor.
I think the best gears you could get in a wagon were 3.23 with the tow package. It's rare I see a wagon in the yard, not to mention a tow package. GRM ways to extract and press bearings and races?
bottle jack and some bearing splitters? Vice and a brass drift/BFH?
I have a USA made 20ton press and magnetic dial indicater for setting up rear gears. Give me a call you can use it at no cost.
Stan, that would be great! I really appreciate it. I'll give you a call when I'm ready.
You'll need a new crush sleave for the pinion.
