Camaro rear end

Gotta 88 camaro, V8 w/2:93 gears. Was driving along the other day and the engine pulled down and then the rear end popped and started making a clunk noise with every rotation of the tires. My first thought was U joints, but i checked those, and that doesn't seem to be the problem. I"m thinking it's an internal problem with either the ring, or spider gears. i dont know if they chipped a tooth or what the hell the problem is. But if i do end up changing or fixing the differential, i'd like to put in a 3:73 possi unit. My question is, what do i need to know when buying a differential unit? If i remember right, it's got 28 spline axels, and a 3 series carrier, but that's just from what i've read. Please correct me if i'm wrong. My first choice is going to be to buy a used unit off ebay, and my second choice will be to buy a new unit from jegs. I just need to know what i'm looking for when buying a used unit. most of the people that are selling used units say it will fit a camaro, and give the specs on it, but i'd like to make sure i'm getting what i need before i spend $250. thanks

well, first, its a 2.73 or 2.77 rear end, no such thing as a 2.93. and a 2.77 is a borg warner rear with 7.75in ring gear. which you would only have on an IROC. so its probly a 2.73 open rear. also, you have 26 spline axles not 28. 1989 and up camaros got the 28 spline axles. you can get aftermarket axles, or steal some from an 89-92 camaro to get em, make sure that if you have drums, you get the axles from drums, and if you got disks, get the axles from a disks equipped car. if you upgrade to 28spline axles, get a torsen unit from a fourth gen camaro, they have 3.23 or 3.42 gears on them, and are better than posi units. a posi is just an open rear end with conical clutches in it to reduce single wheel spinning. a torsn is a internal gear driven torque biasing rear end. farrrrrr better. i got mine on ebay, torsen carrier with 3.23 gears and matching pinion gear for 200 bucks. but you wuold also have to change your axles, so it will be a bit more.

The gears in the rear end are not original, they were put in the car by one of the previous owners, but they ARE open 2:93's, or 2:92's i'm not sure which. i did the math and it came out to like 2:92.58 or somethin. I dont know if those gears are available, or if they used a different ring gear with the original pinion. i'm not even sure if that's possible. The original gears were 2:73 i think. But anyway, i pulled the cover off today and one of the spider gears was in about 6 peices and the ring gear was chipped. So it's time for a locker. I'm not planning on changing axles, i just needed to know what the spline count was etc. So i can order the the right differential.

wow, never heard of those gears before, guess ya learn something new every day. but anyway, you should have 26 spline axles. but while you got the rear end apart, i would go ahead and count em yourself, just in case the previous owner swapped those too.

all this rear-end, gear, torsen, posi, axle talk is confusing the hell out of me.

see, I wanna put 3.73 in my RS that currently has 2.73, can i just swap gears, or do I hafta change a bunch of other shit?

if so, PM me some details :)

is there anything wrong with using the conical clutch differential? Dont really have the money and time to get the rear end from a fourth gen. And there's only 2 junk yards around my town, and none of have any fourth gens anyway. I'd just like to have possi with 3:73 gears. It's kinda embarassing to have over 300 horsepower and only leave a peg leg burnout. And Genopsyde, you can change your ring and pinion to have 3:73's, there about $130 from jeg's or summit, or i've seen em brand new on ebay for $100. but it's kinda pointless if you've got an open differential. you wont go anywhere off the line.

naw, you can run a conical clutch posi, they are reliable, just not the best. and as far as price, i mean i got my carrier and gears for 195 bucks. Ebay man, ebay :)

ok, so i get some 3.73's and a torsen unit from a 4th gen, is that all I need, or is there more to it now?

nope, your 91 should have the 28spline axles, just like the fourth gens. personally i would reccomend a torsen with 3.23 or 3.42 gears already attatched from the factory, but hey if you want 3.73 then go for it man :)

I'd just like to have possi with 3:73 gears. It's kinda embarassing to have over 300 horsepower and only leave a peg leg burnout.
but it's kinda pointless if you've got an open differential. you wont go anywhere off the line.


What do you mean?? There is nothing embarssing about doing one wheel wonders. Look at the picture in my sig...Notice how the smoke is only coming from the passenger side :icon16: 11.81 on a "peg leggd car." If I can do it, you can do it. and what is this not going anywhere off the line crap. I '60 1.812. If that is not launching then I don't know what to say. Just because you have posi does not mean that both tires are getting equal traction. They are reciving equal power but not equal traction. The reason a open rear end spins one wheel is because when you get on it the rearend torques (in our cases it torques to the Left) The result is one tire reciving more weight than the other. The lighter tire spins. Now with a posi the same thing still happens but the posi locks up and makes both spin. Posi is not the anwser for launching the car. It will help but you need to apply equal ammounts of traction to both tires.

me likey grand nationals...

well I got a 84 v6 and doing the engine swap as a project thing. Going to put in a 383 stroker so what do I have to do to the rear end to make it hold up under the power?

do all 4th gens have torsen?

No the earlier one's use Auburn I'm not really sure what year they switched

What do you mean?? There is nothing embarssing about doing one wheel wonders. Look at the picture in my sig...Notice how the smoke is only coming from the passenger side :icon16: 11.81 on a "peg leggd car." If I can do it, you can do it. and what is this not going anywhere off the line crap. I '60 1.812. If that is not launching then I don't know what to say. Just because you have posi does not mean that both tires are getting equal traction. They are reciving equal power but not equal traction. The reason a open rear end spins one wheel is because when you get on it the rearend torques (in our cases it torques to the Left) The result is one tire reciving more weight than the other. The lighter tire spins. Now with a posi the same thing still happens but the posi locks up and makes both spin. Posi is not the anwser for launching the car. It will help but you need to apply equal ammounts of traction to both tires.
there's nothin wrong with only spinning one wheel, hell my mom's mini van will do that. but to see possi's runnin down the concrete will impress me a little more. but that's just my preference.
but my question is, instead of buying a whole possi differential, has anyone used a mini spool in place of the spider gear assembly? would this be a good idea for street? i would think it'd wear your tire's out when ya go around corners. and there only about $75

got my torsen out of a 96 firechicken

they sell posi locker in jegs for $310.

my torsen, with 3.23 gears included, only cost me 145 bucks. (thought it was 195, but checked my invoice) and in my opinion the torsen is a better buy than a locker. ebay man, its the best :)

How is a locker not as good as a torsen even though you always have equal traction to both wheels in a locker and yet you can still turn a corner without sqeeling tires?

Besides you pay 300 and you can get a warrinteed locker rearend for 300 rather than a 145 risk on ebay.

the difference is that the locker just gives you a solid axles, all the way across regardless of traction to either, its a "dumb" system, the exuvilent to a B-52 carpet bombing to hit a single shack in the woods. the torsen is a gear driven torque biasing unit that automaticly, albiet mechanicly senses the loss of traction to a wheel, and actually removes torque from that wheel and sends it to the other wheel with traction. with a locker it just sends both wheels equil power, regardless of the traction situation. as far as an ebay "risk" so long as you do your homework, and buy from bidders with high positive feedback, i have fuond it is perfectly safe, i have only recently had my first mixup, in which i got a different set of 6x9 speakers than i had bid for, and they were actually higher end speakers than i had won at auction. dont know if thats a bad thing, or a good thing ;)

While on the subject of rear-ends and all that stuff... some one had mentioned the fact that at launch, traction isn't the same for both tires because of the rotation of the driveshaft, aka the twist exerts a lifting forcing on one wheel while a pushing down force on the other... anyway, i remember reading somewhere about a suspension compotent (maybe shocks, springs, i really dont know) that counteracts this and evens things up. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

While on the subject of rear-ends and all that stuff... some one had mentioned the fact that at launch, traction isn't the same for both tires because of the rotation of the driveshaft, aka the twist exerts a lifting forcing on one wheel while a pushing down force on the other... anyway, i remember reading somewhere about a suspension compotent (maybe shocks, springs, i really dont know) that counteracts this and evens things up. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?


Airbags that go inbetween your coil springs.. Thats what I use

panhard rod, lower control arms, shocks and springs, they all contribute to the same purpose...

91 z28 here. I'm planning out some performance mods for the engine and some rear end changes are exactly the other compliment I'd like to work on for getting that power to the ground. Without taking the rear apart I'm assuming it's stock. I personally like posi as some have said before for the burnout look, however in the end I know I'm gonna go for the best performance. I'm not familiar with rear-tech, any suggestions on what exactly to buy to upgrade my stock rear end? By exact I ask for details because other than the gears which I'd like to go with 3.23's (good for a 250-350hp 305?) I'm really not sure what components I should change.