rear end gone?

[78monteclassic]

I was driving home, accelerating at WOT and manually shifted from 1st to 2nd, heard a loud pop, car shut off and I coasted to a stop, thought I blew the transmission, well..when I put it in gear, speedometer goes up and the driveshaft spins, wheels don't move and I hear a constant light clunk sound that increases as I rev in gear. I put it in park and it grinds pretty bad for about 5 seconds but the car still rolls in park. Rear end? Transmission should be fine right? I checked transmission fluid and its bright red and there are no metal particles. Should I take off the differential cover and have a look? What parts should I be looking to buy? First time with rear end trouble. 🙁

 

[Peter]

if your driveshaft is spinning without your car moving, time to pull the diff cover and cry

 

[DRIVEN]

...Or save the time and mess and just start looking for another rear end now.

 

[Peter]

IF you're in MA i got 2 complete rears available

 

[78monteclassic]

...Or save the time and mess and just start looking for another rear end now.

Where can I find a new one?

 

[DRIVEN]

Under any '78-'88 Gbody 😀 . Not sure where you live -- and I know in some areas they are more scarce, but there are probably 20 at the PickNPull yards alone within 20 minutes of my house. If you have the cash maybe it's time to upgrade to an aftermarket 9" or 12-bolt.

 

[78monteclassic]

Under any '78-'88 Gbody 😀 . Not sure where you live -- and I know in some areas they are more scarce, but there are probably 20 at the PickNPull yards alone within 20 minutes of my house. If you have the cash maybe it's time to upgrade to an aftermarket 9" or 12-bolt.

Where can I get an aftermarket one?

 

[DRIVEN]

Moser

 

[78monteclassic]

Moser

So I looked at some of the prices for a new complete rear end and I don't think I can afford it right now..I called a junkyard and they have one for 216, I know my car has like a ratio of 2.29 I think, and I wanted to get something more around 3.08-3.23, did any g-body's come with those from the factory? Or should I just buy a posi differential and a ring and pinion gear and fix mine?

 

[Peter]

Moser

So I looked at some of the prices for a new complete rear end and I don't think I can afford it right now..I called a junkyard and they have one for 216, I know my car has like a ratio of 2.29 I think, and I wanted to get something more around 3.08-3.23, did any g-body's come with those from the factory? Or should I just buy a posi differential and a ring and pinion gear and fix mine?

just a ring and pinion isnt guaranteed to fix your problems, if thats what torn up to begin with all the metal shards could have done a number on your spider gears and carrier. your best option will be to find someone that has a gbody rear available and plug and play with that entire rear end. If you got time to spare you can hold out for a decent gears posi 7.5 or 8.5 otherwise you might have to settle for some dead highway gear peg leg. I got two of those available if your local.