differential?

Hello..I have a 97 trans am...Correct me if I'm wrong but I have the 7.5" rear end right? anyway I have an auto tranny and I think 2.73 gears, but I want to get 3.73's. Problem is I dont' want to have to pay the 700 bucks or so to change to a series 3 carrier. I was just looking up richmond ring and pinion sets on summitracing.com and they say they have 3.73's for a series 2 carrier? How could this be? and would it work in my car? Thanks

I havn't heard much about it, but from what I have is that it is a pain to install if you get the kit deal, and that it wont last as long or be as strong if you just got a new rear end and stuff. if your not drag racing or in an autocross im sure it would work fine, but if it's going to be used for punishment or if your car has lots of other mods and high HP and big slicks on it and stuff like that, I would think that it wouldn't not last. Thats just what I think though, im sure someone else knows exactly about it so wait for them. I think his name was Formula F1 or something. He seemed to know a lot about gears. I would PM him or just wait. Good luck with that though.

Setting up rearend gears is not something i would want to try myself. Theres alot to consider in order to get them setup properly. You have to have good preload and a good pattern with how the teeth meet. If you dont set it up right it will make an annoying whine while your driving.

I think your best bet would be to get a whole rearend from another 4th gen with the gears already in it, and swap that in. You could get something that had a 6 spd and should have 3.42s in it. Then you could just bolt the thing in which is way easier than swapping gears.

I think you might find 3.73s a little low for an automatic, especially if you do alot of highway driving.

3.73's are actually not bad for a Auto you will notice slightly lower highway mileage (maybe 1-2 miles less per gallon but nothing drastic) city will not change. Also the richmond 2 series gears are really good gears they are made to the dimensions of a 2 series carrier which is more narrow with a larger pinion gear and yes this would work on your car.. If your rear end has alot of mileage I would recommend just getting a 3 Series Carrier and matching gears as the 3.73's will put more stress on the rear and may end up baking itin no time if its not in good shape to begin with. Also don't forget your going to have to reprogram your Computer for the gear change now would also be a good time to get a power tune.

P.S. -Strange Also makes 2 series 3.73's and they are usually a little less and just as strong just some food for thought.

first of all, its possible to have series 2 3.73 gears cause they manufacture the gears thicker to make up the space of the carrier.

second, installing the gears is a very trying thing to do, i wouldnt recommend it for someone who has little automechanics experience.

third, i dont know if i got a bum set or not, but my strange gear set did not fit - at all. the only way the 3.73 series 2 gears would have fit, im guessing cause i never got them in, is to remove the ABS reluctor ring. again, i could have gotten a bad set, but i personally will never deal with strange again. i would recommend richmond...

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm kinda leaning towards 3.42's instead maybe just to keep a little top end, unless you think 3.73's would be better. I'm not looking to drag or race all the time, but I do want to be able to have the confidense to know that I'll be able to beat another trans am or a mustang or whatever from time to time. This is my daily driver too tho. Recently I've been all gung ho on add whatever little bit of hp I can get with just doin little stuff, and know I'm thinkin it doesn't matter how much power I put to the wheels if it all doesn't transfer to the road, so I think I'm goin to do the gears, new tires(my Kumho's are balled), and stuff like lower control arms and torque arm and panhard rod...stuff like that. Am I goin in the right direction? Also thanks for the help, I posted this same thread in the firebird forum and still no one has replied.

third, i dont know if i got a bum set or not, but my strange gear set did not fit - at all. the only way the 3.73 series 2 gears would have fit, im guessing cause i never got them in, is to remove the ABS reluctor ring. again, i could have gotten a bad set, but i personally will never deal with strange again. i would recommend richmond...
Why would you have to remove the reluctor ring? It sit's on the lip and unless it was in backwards it would not cause any clearance issue's with the ring gear. but I have heard very good things about strange gears from other F-body owners but have never used them myself so they must be hit or miss but you can't go wrong with richmond.

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm kinda leaning towards 3.42's instead maybe just to keep a little top end, unless you think 3.73's would be better. I'm not looking to drag or race all the time, but I do want to be able to have the confidense to know that I'll be able to beat another trans am or a mustang or whatever from time to time. This is my daily driver too tho. Recently I've been all gung ho on add whatever little bit of hp I can get with just doin little stuff, and know I'm thinkin it doesn't matter how much power I put to the wheels if it all doesn't transfer to the road, so I think I'm goin to do the gears, new tires(my Kumho's are balled), and stuff like lower control arms and torque arm and panhard rod...stuff like that. Am I goin in the right direction? Also thanks for the help, I posted this same thread in the firebird forum and still no one has replied.
I'm sad to say that alot of the post's in the Firebird forum are about neon light and dash kits, I try not to go in there