rear end stuff

[othtim]

I know this topic has been beat to death - what rear end should I use?

From what I've searched. it seems everyone is saying "get rid of the 7.5".

I am buying a used 350 HO tommorow to swap in place of my current 305. Still sporting the 7.5 rear and 250,000 kms.
How long do I have? I don't hammer on this thing. It's an automatic, I never neutral drop it. It has BFG Radial TA's, 225/60/r14. So it's not super sticky. I just drive it on the street, it is my daily, I drive it summer and winter.

Comments on how long I have?

I am considering buying a bolt-in 8.5 or ford 9" rear end from somewhere. Recommendations? This rear end will likely not see any further performance upgrades beyond this 300HP 350 .

 

[Oldsmoletick]

As long as your axle is in "good health" you'll be ok. If you're worried, have a competent rear end guy/gal go through it for you to make sure everything is in good working order. I ran one with small tires and normal driving habits for years without issues.

 

[cdg1984]

7.5 should be fine. You may want to pop the pumpkin cover off and look at the gears/fluid just to be sure they look ok, and to make sure there are no little pieces of metal floating around in there. If not, change the fluid and you should be good to go.

 

[nycutlass]

if you drive normal with it and dont do killer hole shots ,it would last forever almost

 

[Phoenyx]

As long as you're not running slicks it should be OK. But the high mileage would worry me a bit. I would start looking for a replacement if I was you.

 

[othtim]

Yeah. Should I replace the whole rear-end unit?

My budget for rear-end parts is about $300-400 max. Suggestions for improving the stock 7.5 unit would help, brands and such.

I have a new Richmond 3.23 gear set that I'm planning to put in soon-ish.

I've heard the stock carrier is bad, and I'm going to be replacing it anyways with a 3-series carrier anyways. What kind is good?

Should I be using a housing girdle?

I've read online that tack-welding the axle tubes is good. Is this true, and why so?

Is upgrading the axles good too? I've heard good things about moser 28-spline axles. If I did this, would I have to get a different type of carrier? seems to me I would.

 

[79loserbluebu]

300HP? That's it? If you want to go overboard like lots of people do just to be on the safe side you could get a set of Moser 28 splines and a 28 spline carrier. The reason people weld the tubes to the carrier housing is because they are plug welded and that can leave a huge area of breakage. You can use a housing girdle if you want but I really don't notice anything with mine. I've got an 8.5" that I put quite a bit of money into and I've only got a Goodwrench engine in it so maybe 210hp.

But like everyone said before me, that rear end will hold 300hp the way it sits. Pop the cover off and just look at it and at the cover's magnet and see if there's some serious metal shavings stuck to it. Change the fluid and put the cover back on and be done with it. My friend has a 11 second MC with a 383 and sprays a 150 shot off the line on a set of MT's (can't recall the tire size), with boxed arms, and an absolutely stock rear end. Spun a bearing in the engine before he had a problem with the rear.