Long story short, I'm tired of trying to hunt down a better rear end. How difficult is a gear swap? I found a cheap 3.42 ring & pinion out of a '93 S-10 but I have a 2 series carrier. I see that Motive Gear makes a ring spacer so I won't have to swap carriers. I've read about doing it quite a few times but never actually did it.
7.5 gear change
- Thread starter G-Body_Vet
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its not too hard. helps if u got someone to help that has done it before. main thing is getting your pinion depth and ring backlash right. or at least close. sometimes u dont even have to mess with it. u can look up instructions off google or if u buy a new set they will come with them.
bjohn07 said:
Doesn't appear too hard from what I've read. As long as you have a dial indicator, torque wrench, marking compound and the shims anyway.
it's not hard per se, it's just a lot of back and forth. i suggest buying a book on it--that will also give you the time and labor saving tips.
if the pinion was set up in another housing 99% of the time it'll be the right depth setting for another 7.5. If your going to change the bearing on the pinion check the depth setting before you do so if it is good you can use the same shim with a new bearing. When you do mock it up to check the depth setting don't install the new crush sleeve at that time. Tighten the pinion so it has 10-12 inch lbs of torque to rotate it (if you have new bearings the torque level is 20) and with the past check the pattern. The pattern should be good so you can install the crush washer and torque the pinion anywhere from 150 to 180 lbs to crush the sleeve and to get the right rotating torque (10-12) on the pinion. Before you check the rotating torque give the pinion a few good hits with a rubber hammer. I always toque it to 180 and if the pinion is too tight I back it off slightly to get it so it feels good. I have seen the old crush sleeve reused and they had no problems with it. It's used to get the preload with no movement in the depth setting.
For the carrier mark the caps so the go back on in their proper place. You will probably have to remove the carrier by a pry bar. Make sure you keep the shims in place so when you reinstall the shims go back the same way they came out and your backlash should be within specs - .06 to.10. If it's not then you'll have to adjust it with shims. Remember the bolts for the ring gear are left handed.
*someone pointed out I erred with the rotating torque value as it is supposed to be in inch pounds....they were correct and thanks for pointing that out..you could have left you post up..
For the carrier mark the caps so the go back on in their proper place. You will probably have to remove the carrier by a pry bar. Make sure you keep the shims in place so when you reinstall the shims go back the same way they came out and your backlash should be within specs - .06 to.10. If it's not then you'll have to adjust it with shims. Remember the bolts for the ring gear are left handed.
*someone pointed out I erred with the rotating torque value as it is supposed to be in inch pounds....they were correct and thanks for pointing that out..you could have left you post up..
Do the ring spacers reduce the durability of the set-up? Or are they pretty much the same as having a 3 series carrier?
pontiacgp said:
I think I'll take the plunge and give it a shot. I have a book on the way that gets into more detail about it as well. And BTW, I''m glad that wasn't 180ft/lbs.
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