96 z28 noticed there is a big spot of fluidunder the rear end. i was going to do gears anyway. i have herd a lot of people going with 3.73's anyone know of how hard of a job it is. any special tools needed, i have not done this type of job before. also am unsure of what rear end i have and whichring and pinionto buy for my specific rear end. i believe it is the 10 bolt. can i just buy the gears and rear end seal and be fine or is there more tothe rebuild.any help or does and dont's always helpful

 

Changing or replacing the gears in the rear end requires meticulous measuring and shimming. If it's not done damn close to perferct it won't last OR you could have "catastrophic failure" (tooth on tooth= BOOM!) and then you have to take everything apart, axles and all, clean it, regrease, re-seal, replace, re-install, etc...

I'll admit it, I didn't trust myself or any of my friends, so I took mine to the Chevy dealership. I'll see if Ican find the receipt tonight so I can give you an idea of what it would cost to go that route. It wasn't cheap.

 

My 96 Z leaked as well, so i had my gears done at a shop. It did cost me around $680 with the gears and labor.....call the dealership to see what their prices are and compare that with a respectable rear end shop.

 

i got a question to add to this as i'm having the same problems. sometimes i take my car on about a 100 mile trip. my concern is 3:73's being to stiff or running too high down the interstate. my local mechanics have all told me that 3:73's would probably be a little harsher than i'd like and that a 3:42 would be better. any opinions?

 

Holy cow, derrickdiggler did way better than me on price! I paid almost $1k for the same work with an oil chage. Looks like finding a good shop should be on your "to-do" list sepadowd. Hell, you cold buy a throttle body with the difference!

 

my rear end is leaking too, i was woundering if it would be better to get a used differencial from a salvage yard or take the car to a shop and get the leak fix what ya thinkg?

 

well thanks for the advice i guess i will bring it in. dont want to mess nothing up. just got to hook exhaust back up after installing headers. i already have a 58mm TBso i am thionking of getting the granatelli MAF anyone know if they areany good?

 

Just replace the pinion oil seal and you will stop the leak a cheap fix for your problem. Poor excuse to make a gear change in my opinion.

 

Just buy a new pinion seal which is allof $3 to 5$$$ then you need an 1 1/4 socket. First make sure your fill plug can be removed, soak it with any penatrating oil if its hard to loosen. Next remove your drive shaft which is four 10mm bolts from the rear end. remove the torsion bar from your rear end which is 18mm bolt on top and 21mm nut on bottom( there are two of them.) Pull drive shaft and torsion bar out of the way. Remove nut that is holding on the driveshaft yolk. Be sure to take a center punch and mark your threads before you remove the nut. This means you need to hit the nut and threads with a punch using a hammer (not your hand) leaving a markso you can put the nut back into the same spot it was. If you over tighten it, you will burn out your gears. Then once you get the nut off, you need a gear puller to pull off the yolk. I used a steering wheel puller, just as good. Then once that is off you pry out the old seal using a flat headed screw driver. Becareful not to gouge the metal so you dont rip the seal when it goes back in. Clean out where the seal was of any dirt,grease or RTV so that the seal go in smoothly. Next apply a small amount of RTV (permatex blue) silicone around the seal flange just for extra precaution. Then tap the seal in with a hammer gently working in a 360* rotation.. TAP,TAP,TAP....Not SMASH,SMASH,SMASH ( WHY THE F@ ( # IS THIS NOT GOING IN!!!!!!) Be paitent, its not a hard job, just takes paitents and the willing to do. If you need any illustration, go to your local library to the reference section, go find the Chiltons manual and photo copy the page. If you dont have the larger tools like the 1 1/4 socket, ask a buddy or see if you can rent on from Auto Zone.... *************Just becareful when reinstalling the nut that you dont over tighten, you will have done all the work for nothing.Iif you do over tighten, just back it off before driving. Oh ya, drain the rearend beforeand then fill it up after your all done. Its harder than it sounds, besure to be careful, block your front wheels if using a floor jack, USE JACK STANDS, not just a jack. In all, it should take an hour or two if on the ground, if you are fortunate enough to have access to a lift, its all of 45 min, to an hour. Good luck.

 

Anyone know how much a shop would charge to change the seal? i really dont want to try it myself i dont want to screw up.