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The original plan was to purchase a rebuilt rear end from a gentlemen who does some nice rear end rebuilds out in Ohio. Sadly, he didn't have a casing with the ABS option. I asked him if I could just purchase the parts off of him and do it myself and maybe he could help me via telephone and internet. He agreed to the arrangement.
I took two weeks off work to complete this job as I knew it wasn't going to be an easy one. I was hoping to spend 5-7 days at most and then the rest of the days being with my folks as the new University year is about to start and I will have no free time to do so for many days.
Monday: Removed the rear end from the car and all suspension components I was either replacing with UMI or sand blasting and repainting.
Tuesday: Sand blasted re-useable components and began removing old carrier and gears. At this point I found out that the OEM Posi really did conk out and I was driving only on one wheel for probably a few years. My car was doing mid 13s on only one wheel! I began some shim work using the old bearing on the pinion. I made the bearing inserts much wider so that they could be slipped on and off without a press or puller. This saved a significant amount of time.
Wednesday: Found a desirable pattern with help from my new friend. Put the cap back on and finished painting.
Thursday: Let everything sit and dry
Friday: Put everything back in the car. At this point I followed Yukon's instructions on how to break in the new ring and pinion. They claimed that it was sufficient to drive 10-15 miles and then let the gears cool and then you're good to go. However, if you were to do heavy duty towing than it was wise to give the new gears a cool down time quite frequently. I did their break-in process and there was no noise and it was perfect. I let the gears cool down and then drove her home on the highway. The noise was much worse.
Saturday: Drove the car some more and the noise was unbearable.
Sunday: Called my friend and he instructed me to take the cap off and feel the worn in parts with a flat head. There was a slight rise within the teeth... Yukon's break-in procedure was wrong and the highway drive killed the gears. He explained the way he broke in his gears and it was way different. He ended up not having a new set of gears and instead next day shipped a used set of 3.73s. Since these were used he said they were already hardened and didn't need a break in period.
Monday: Took the rear end back out in 45 minutes.
Tuesday: Received the new ring and pinion and had them back in the housing within 4 hours. That night put the rear end back in the car in only an hour. Gave the car a quick test run and no noise.
Wednesday: Went for quick break-in runs just to be safe.
Thursday: Hung out with the folks.
Friday: Went back home.
New Parts: Yukon Dura Grip Carrier, used 3.73s off an S10, UMI LCA, UMI LPB, Energy Suspension Sway Bar Bushings Kit
Yes, that's a red drive shaft.
Ripped an older stock LT1 Firebird for giggles, he smiled and gave me a thumbs up. Also ripped a Solstice GXP who gave me thumbs up. Can't wait to hit the track.
I took two weeks off work to complete this job as I knew it wasn't going to be an easy one. I was hoping to spend 5-7 days at most and then the rest of the days being with my folks as the new University year is about to start and I will have no free time to do so for many days.
Monday: Removed the rear end from the car and all suspension components I was either replacing with UMI or sand blasting and repainting.
Tuesday: Sand blasted re-useable components and began removing old carrier and gears. At this point I found out that the OEM Posi really did conk out and I was driving only on one wheel for probably a few years. My car was doing mid 13s on only one wheel! I began some shim work using the old bearing on the pinion. I made the bearing inserts much wider so that they could be slipped on and off without a press or puller. This saved a significant amount of time.
Wednesday: Found a desirable pattern with help from my new friend. Put the cap back on and finished painting.
Thursday: Let everything sit and dry
Friday: Put everything back in the car. At this point I followed Yukon's instructions on how to break in the new ring and pinion. They claimed that it was sufficient to drive 10-15 miles and then let the gears cool and then you're good to go. However, if you were to do heavy duty towing than it was wise to give the new gears a cool down time quite frequently. I did their break-in process and there was no noise and it was perfect. I let the gears cool down and then drove her home on the highway. The noise was much worse.
Saturday: Drove the car some more and the noise was unbearable.
Sunday: Called my friend and he instructed me to take the cap off and feel the worn in parts with a flat head. There was a slight rise within the teeth... Yukon's break-in procedure was wrong and the highway drive killed the gears. He explained the way he broke in his gears and it was way different. He ended up not having a new set of gears and instead next day shipped a used set of 3.73s. Since these were used he said they were already hardened and didn't need a break in period.
Monday: Took the rear end back out in 45 minutes.
Tuesday: Received the new ring and pinion and had them back in the housing within 4 hours. That night put the rear end back in the car in only an hour. Gave the car a quick test run and no noise.
Wednesday: Went for quick break-in runs just to be safe.
Thursday: Hung out with the folks.
Friday: Went back home.
New Parts: Yukon Dura Grip Carrier, used 3.73s off an S10, UMI LCA, UMI LPB, Energy Suspension Sway Bar Bushings Kit
Yes, that's a red drive shaft.
Ripped an older stock LT1 Firebird for giggles, he smiled and gave me a thumbs up. Also ripped a Solstice GXP who gave me thumbs up. Can't wait to hit the track.
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