Most definitely have been over thinking everything, because I seem to be the bearer of the absolute worst kind of luck. I'm trying to be done with this car as soon as possible at this point for driveability alone. Power adders are far, FAR down the road unfortunately at this point.

 

well i hope things turn out for some good luck, you sure have put alot of work into the car ,god bless,i did not meen seem to be negative on my last post ,like you just want to see you rolling again ,i been there with other things in life

 

Well, all things have been good. Decided to follow advice and just get some stuff from the store here locally, no problems.

While my wrists and hands are recovering from my first plug and wire replacement, I'm kicking the idea of headers + exhaust around.

Keeping the stock intake, and using Speed Engineer 3" true duals, what block-off kits or plates will I need? Also, how badly will the car run without a tune after going to 1 7/8" headers plus bigger exhaust?

 

there not much fun on my 406 either but easyer then the lt1 or ls1 ,headers make it harder ,but worth it

 

Hey OP can I pick your brains on your LSD rebuild.

my pinion bearing is shot and leaking heaps. Looking at going with stock gears. Did you do the rebuild yourself?

Any tips for solid spacer set up? Is much more difficult to get the preload correct with solid spacer in comparison with a standard crush sleeve? Is there much of a benefit and is it worth the hassle?

Everyone says i should just throw a 12 bolt in there but my z28 LT1 is bone stock and i have to retain ABS to pass inspection.

How many attempts did it take you to get the backlash and gear pattern to within spec?

 

I don't have the tools or experience to mess with gear backlash. I took it to a local shop to get it done.

If you check out Moser, they offer retro-fitting a GM 12 bolt with the reluctor ring, sensors, wires, etc. from your original 4 wire 10 bolt axle. Isn't cheap, but it'll be stronger than anything else you do to a 10 bolt.

I went with Richmond gears, and they're noisy. Whine around 36-50mph very notably.

 

Solid pinion spacers are well worth the money. They are forgiving for someone who doesn't do it a lot. Problem with crush sleeves is, if you go to tight and crush it too far, you gotta start all over. Leave it too loose, and it'll chew up the bearings, making you start all over again.

 

The kit I bought came with an Eaton differential, Richmond gears, a yukon (Timken?) bearing kit, and a solid pinion spacer was an option I decided to opt-for. Seal went bad already, but other than that it's fine.

Ring and pinion are very loud though... do be warned. Richmond gears are cheap, but they make the axle sound like it's about to blow the instant they're installed (very notable gear whine) even right off the rack, now matter how the backlash is set. If it's a daily-driver, even though I went with Richmond, I recommend OE gears or Yukon for the noise.

 

Good to know, was unaware this was possible. Sounds like the relucor ring can be press fitted onto a 12 bolt?

Might look into this in the new year.

 

You can e-mail them and get any information you need. Here's a link to the 12-bolt "package". Basically $1200 before shipping, then additional cost if you don't know how to or can't set gear backlash and the like on your own. Pretty good deal, honestly.

If (let's be real, WHEN) my 10-bolt dies after all the parts I've put into it, I'll just be ordering one of these and calling it a day. For the A4 cars like mine, it should be fine. If you're running a T56 transmission, then a ford 9 inch seems like the preferred route, if not a Strange S60 axle.

-edit-

Looking at starters for adding power to the car (finally). I think I've settled on wanting to get the following:

SLP air-lid with a smooth bellow
Get throttle body ported polished, etc.
LS6 intake manifold? (reading that this actually makes a decent difference??)
Speeding engineering 1 7/8" LT header, + true dual kit w/ PHB relocation.

That should get the car close to 350whp with a tune, no? I'd be happy with that for awhile.