Please Help...

Tommy2Guns · 11-05-2009, 04:07 PM

Hey Guys ,I recently saw the light and left the import world and bought my first F-Body ..Its a 1998 z28 .. The problem is the guy who owned the car before me had 4:10 Gears installed along with moser axels.. Since the day I got the car (about 6 months ago) The rear end was whining and vibrating..Finally yesterday it started making a clunking sound and I stop driving the car..

I have a spare rear end from a 97 z28 I want to swap in..I know I have to swap the brakes , axels and end plates with sensors...I've done everything from brakes to motor swaps but I've never opend up a rear end ..What would I have to do to remove the axels??

RARON455 · 11-05-2009, 05:51 PM

I assume the previous owner put the gears and axles in the original GM 10 bolt axle correct. Not an aftermarket ford 9" or 12 bolt. If it is the original rear here is how you remove the axles
1.Jack the car up and remove the wheels on the rear
2. remove the rear differential cover (10bolts) and let the gear oil drain
3.Put the car in nuetral and turn the carrier until you see a little 7/16 bolt head on the carrier unit itself. careful not to strip the head make sure you use a 6 point wrench not a 12 remove the bolt. that bolt holds a larg pin in the carrier.
4. tap the pin in a little bit not too much or you are screwed, just enough to get the other end out about 1/2 inch.
5.rotate the unit a half circle and you should be looking at the end of the pin hanging out. use a set of vise grips and grap the pin and walk it out of the unit.
6.once the pin is out choose an axle and from the outside push it inwards towards the center of the rear. you will see a C-clip on the end of the axle shaft. reach thru the hole and remove that clip and the axle simply slides out. do the same for the other side and you will have them both out.
inspect your bolt and pin, if you are going to reuse your pin (fine to do as long as you dont see any serious wear) remember to look for burrs where you grabbed it with the vise grips and clean it up before reinstalling it. its really not that bad of a job. Hope this helps

Tommy2Guns · 11-05-2009, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RARON455

I assume the previous owner put the gears and axles in the original GM 10 bolt axle correct. Not an aftermarket ford 9" or 12 bolt. If it is the original rear here is how you remove the axles
1.Jack the car up and remove the wheels on the rear
2. remove the rear differential cover (10bolts) and let the gear oil drain
3.Put the car in nuetral and turn the carrier until you see a little 7/16 bolt head on the carrier unit itself. careful not to strip the head make sure you use a 6 point wrench not a 12 remove the bolt. that bolt holds a larg pin in the carrier.
4. tap the pin in a little bit not too much or you are screwed, just enough to get the other end out about 1/2 inch.
5.rotate the unit a half circle and you should be looking at the end of the pin hanging out. use a set of vise grips and grap the pin and walk it out of the unit.
6.once the pin is out choose an axle and from the outside push it inwards towards the center of the rear. you will see a C-clip on the end of the axle shaft. reach thru the hole and remove that clip and the axle simply slides out. do the same for the other side and you will have them both out.
inspect your bolt and pin, if you are going to reuse your pin (fine to do as long as you dont see any serious wear) remember to look for burrs where you grabbed it with the vise grips and clean it up before reinstalling it. its really not that bad of a job. Hope this helps

Thanks You very much You've been real helpful ! ! ! !

Tommy2Guns · 11-05-2009, 06:24 PM

What do you guys think ..My car has simple bolt on's and with the 4:10 gears I went 13.01 @ 106.9 mph in the 1/4 with a 2.1 60ft .. The car ran out of steam real quick..

My new rear has a 3.23. do you think it going to be slower?...

RARON455 · 11-06-2009, 01:04 PM

those times are around the average, depending on what you have for bolt-ons.

Will you lose speed in the 1/4 by swapping from 4.10 to a 3.23 absolutely.
It will achieve better gas mileage and a higher top speed, but the 4.10 gear is what helps the torque of the car accelerate it quickly. Swapping to a higher gearset will cost you low end acceleration, but give you the benefit of keeping the engine RPMS lower, giving you better mileage and higher topspeed. Always a trade-off. The general rule for all the guys with these cars is that the automatic cars like to run the 3.73s and the stick cars like the 4.10s I have a stick and run 3.75s in my 9" because I didnt like how fast the car pulled thru the gears so I stepped down a little bit. It was the right choice for me. If the 4.10 gearset was making all that noise and vibration it was probably due to improper installation of the ring and pinion gear. By swapping to a factory built differential you should not have that problem anymore.

Tommy2Guns · 11-09-2009, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RARON455

those times are around the average, depending on what you have for bolt-ons.

Will you lose speed in the 1/4 by swapping from 4.10 to a 3.23 absolutely.
It will achieve better gas mileage and a higher top speed, but the 4.10 gear is what helps the torque of the car accelerate it quickly. Swapping to a higher gearset will cost you low end acceleration, but give you the benefit of keeping the engine RPMS lower, giving you better mileage and higher topspeed. Always a trade-off. The general rule for all the guys with these cars is that the automatic cars like to run the 3.73s and the stick cars like the 4.10s I have a stick and run 3.75s in my 9" because I didnt like how fast the car pulled thru the gears so I stepped down a little bit. It was the right choice for me. If the 4.10 gearset was making all that noise and vibration it was probably due to improper installation of the ring and pinion gear. By swapping to a factory built differential you should not have that problem anymore.

Thanks for your in put.. I swaped the complete rear end with one out of a 97 and swaped over my moser axles and sensors.. The car feels great. It super quite and now I can cruise at 80-90 mph with out a sweat. Its not as violent in the botom as before but its super strong after 50 mph.. I'll be going to the track soon and get some numbers...I'll make sure to post them up.. Thanks every one..