Hi, my car's been broke for a month now and my mechanic seems not to care. I got a few questions:
1. My rear end in my 89 Iroc broke, it was a 2.77 rear. What broke was the little part that comes out of it and gets attached to the drive shaft. Can that be fix? Cause my mechanic told me that I need a whole axle and I don't know anything about rear ends.
2. My car is not that strong, it's got 78K miles on it, it does a quarter of a mile in about 14 seconds, is that too much power for such rear end? Or could something else kill it (my transmission mount broke, could that shift the whole drive shaft when accelerating and break that little part on rear end?)
3. Below is a copy of a description of a rear end that a guy near me is selling (my mechanic wasn't able to get me one for a month already so I'm searching for one myself cause I need to drive). Does this thing sound strong? Would I need any additional mods? Thank you so much.




I picked up this freshly-rebuilt Zexel-Torsen LSD from a LS1 car for my V6 Camaro.
It has a fresh pack of GM Motive 3.73 gears, only run for a few miles to be sure there was no whine/play in the gears. Will fit any 4th-gen F-body. Complete from hub to hub -- hubs are for rotors, but since the V6 had drums, I don't have those to include. Great upgrade for a LT1 car... Price is worth the gears & installation alone... $300

I did get a few more details on the rear, though... The LSD was purchased as a SLP take-out, so it was brand new, and was used for about 10k mi. Gear pack is brand new, GM Motive 3.73 gears. 3-Channel axle, not setup for use with ASR (Traction Control). RELUCTOR RING IS NOT PRESENT -- ABS WILL NOT FUNCTION. Axle bearings have about 50k on them, and are in great shape.

 

I'm not sure exactly which part you're referring to as being broken, pics would help. From your description, it sounds like you are talking about the pinion yoke. It's the part that bolts to the rear of the driveshaft and goes into the differential. If that is all it is, then yes, it's an easy fix. I can get them for around $10 at most of the junkyards around me. Shouldn't take an experienced mechanic with a lift more than an hour or 2 to change it. First time I ever did on, I did on my 94 GMC Sierra, took me 1 1/2 hours. It certainly doesn't require replacing the entire axle.

That being said, the one you found for sale will work. Your wheels will stick a little further out in the wheel wells(1-2" on each side) but it should bolt right in. I'm not sure if you would need a new ebrake cable or not and it sounds like the parts for the brakes are not included so you would need almost a complete disc brake setup for each side. That can get expensive real quick, but rear discs would be a great upgrade for you. You can ignore the parts about the traction control and ABS since our cars don't have those options.

 

Not sure where you're locted and how much you want tot spend but I've got a non-posi 3.23 drum rear for sale for $150. It's in pretty good shape and the gear wear pattern looks great. I'm in southeastern Michigan. Let me know if you're interested.

The rear end in the ad you site sounds pretty good. If it's as complete as it says an the posi actually functions it's a deal.

 

If you have an '89 with a 2.77 gear then you have the 9 bolt Borg Warner rear end. Parts for these are a little harder to find. If you can find the yoke then you can replace it. These rear ends are listed in the classifieds on this sight. The 2.77 rear ends are cheaper than the 3.27 rear ends.

 

Yeah, the rear end does not show brakes. I have disc brakes on my Iroc cause it's a 5.7 and all of those as far as I know came with disc brakes. So are you saying my disc brakes can't be put on that axle?

Also, next year finances permit, I'd like to do some engine improvements and also put in a nitrous. Should I just put the whole thing away for now and get me an econobox for now and get a 12 bolt or a 9" rear end or a dana 44 or just get the one from this guy? Any idea how much hp this one will withstand? BTW, thanks for the info, I thought that since that little sucker broke it can probably be replaced, but my mechanic is obviously trying to rip me off.

Here's the link to what I'm talking about so please let me know how strong you think this thing is. Ultimately I want my car fairly stock, meaning I'll keep and upgrade the old engine to something a little over 350 hp but then also have a nitrous "just in case", so hence I don't know if I should just put 12 bolt or 9" or dana next year. Any suggestions will be great (especially if you know how much does rear ends go for).

http://web.camaross.com/forums/showthread.php?t=692318

If anyone knows a mechanic who's not trying to rip people off and knows thirdgen cars then please let me know.

 

The Borg Warner rear end that you have now is stronger than the 10 bolt from the 4th gen. Not much, but still a little stronger. 350 HP isn't going to kill it. You would probably be better off if you got rid of those 2.77 gears. A 12 bolt is going to cost about $2220 plus shipping. Your brakes will not transfer to the 10 bolt or the 12 bolt, so you are going to need to find another set if you swap the rear end.

 

I was actually assuming you had a drum brake rear which wouldn't adapt to a disc brake axle. I may have gotten your rear mixed up with the mention of the drum brakes in the ad you referred to. Anyway, BGH is right, you would need the brake setup for your rear end since its not the common 10 bolt rear. Any of the rear ends mentioned should hold up to 350HP. Even the stock 10 Bolt rear should take that as long as you are not abusing it.

Your best bet IMHO would be to fix the rear that you have and upgrade to a better gear ratio. Whether you have your current mechanic fix it or another one do it is up to you, but it would be your cheapest option. Buying a 12 bolt, a 9", or a dana 44, or any other rear for that matter is still going to require purchasing the brake setup, and possible other things like axles and R&P.

 

Ok, so let me get this straight cause now I'm a bit confused:

I got disc brakes on my thirdgen, so if I buy a 3.42 rear end from a new camaro (I just talked to my mechanic he said he can get me one) then will my brakes fit or no? (mechanic doesn't know)

Or if I buy the rear end from the guy who's add I posted above which was from an LS1, will my brakes fit?

Thanks again guys.

Here's the link to the guy's ad in case you wanna look at this setup: http://web.camaross.com/forums/showthread.php?t=692318

Thanks for the info, I gotta let my mechanic know so he can fix it asap and I can really step on it when I leave from him and never come back.

 

No, your brakes will only fit the Borg Warner 9 bolt rear end. All of the other rear ends that you mentioned are the GM 7.5 10 bolt.

 

If you replace with the 4th gen rear complete, why worry about the brakes - a complete 4th gen rear will have much better brakes than anything from a 3rd gen rear. Like mentioned, a 4th gen rear will stick out about 1.5 inches on each side (4th gen rear is overall 3 inches longer). A 4th gen complete rear should be had for $300 easy - I paid less than that for my 2000 3.42 geared LS1 rear complete. It's a direct bolt-on replacement - just need to rig up the E-brake cable cause they are different.

And ditch the mechanic. There is no such thing anymore - only "technicians. Learn to do the work yourself - YOU can screw up your car as well as any "mechanic", and pay way less. For what your first "mechanic" bill costs, you can buy a really nice set of Craftsman tools and have the fun/pride of doing it yourself!