Driving to walmart to pick up an air conditioner... 1500rpm in 4th at constant speed down the main road.. start hearing what sounds like vibration or rattling (like resonation of a sheet of metal).. then BAM! then WAP WAP WAP WAP.. I pull over, and we push the car off the road (in neutral) into a parking lot.. the whole time, WAP WAP WAP...

So, I think it's probably a ujoint on the driveshaft.. no biggie, I'll fix it tomorrow. I leave it there, come back today and jack it up and pull off the driveshaft in the Mobil station parking lot..

Bad news.. driveshaft, ujoints and yoke look good..

I try to turn the wheels.. (rear end off the ground) and they spin freely until they reach about 1 rotation, then they freeze up.... then its really hard to spin them again, then they break free, spin nearly another rotation and lock up.. (This is what was making the WAP... WAP... WAP sound) I'm guessing I lost some teeth inside my rear?

Just to be sure, I checked my tranny.. started the car, put it in first (with driveshaft off) and let out the clutch.. all is good there.

So... should I do 4.10/gears? 3.73? Strange? Motive? What about a posi? Keep mine or do an eaton? Should I get a new differential cover? Studs? What about my axles? Change the number of splines? Axle Bearings? Wheel Bearings?

I've got next to no experience or knowledge about what's good and not good in the rear end department (besides general knowledge like 12 bolt is a lot strong than 10 bolt, and has less frictional losses than 9 inch, but the 9 inch is much more bulletproof, and that "the more splines the better").

Anyway, I'm going to be looking into a new rear end tomorrow, so I'd appreciate any advice you guys might have..

Thanks in advance!

 

I can help you out on this, give me a call at 909 478 0370.

 

T-Byrne has a sale on their Strange 12-bolts. Do a search for "Strange 12 bolt" and their post will show up.

I'm in the same boat as you, and I will def. take advantage of this sale

 

How is $2239 + brakes a sale/deal?

 

Because it saved me about $230. Anything is better then nothing.

 

I think that buying a 12 bolt just isn't worth it on these cars.. the money would be, in my current opinion, better put twards a used z06 vette or an 03/04 cobra, both of which have rears which can take the abuse and are just in every way better engineered cars. All the mods we do just to get our cars to go faster than vettes in a straight line.. but then we're still 600 pounds heavier, and we get our asses handed to us in the turns.. i think i'm losing my faith..

at least until i get a garage with a lift and all the tools i want.. then I can just salvage parts from junkyards and make them work, without having to pay $2300 for somebody to rip me off on a rear end..

 

Also, aren't 12-bolts not indestructable? I have a friend with a 55 chevy who says he's had to rebuild his at least 5 or 6 times.. granted over a 20 year period, but he also doesn't drive that car often...

 

I'm glad it worked out for you though, and thanks for the info, i don't mean to be bashing.. i guess, personally, i just don't feel its where im willing to take the car anymore..

 

been down the same route.. I ended up taking a salvage 10 bolt, throwing a new set of 3.73's in, and a T2R diff, and got the shop to replace the bearings, seals, etc...

I'm content with the results.. Drives nice.. little whine on accel at about 50-60 mph.. I bet it'll be louder at 120 mph but i haven't take it up that fast since..

If I could do it again, I would have just coughed up the extra cash and gotten a strange 12 bolt... cause that rear end is still in the back of my mind.. (12 bolt to keep the 3channel ABS.. if I had a 4 channel, I'd go for the 9 inch)

But.. I know what you are talking about.. Hence why I'm going to keep my car relatively stock (99 z28 with about 60k miles), till I decide what i want to do with it, or next major problem (hoping to hit at least 100k at least though)

I've toyed around with selling it.. But besides money (its paid off), its got sentimental value on it now.. And the car still is loads of fun to drive on the roads..

but a 400 hp LS2 '05 GTO for $30k flat(at the most) is pretty tempting.. or a used C5... about that same price..

 

Let's also not forget that mustangs also have the worst solid axle rear suspension design known to man. Certainly not better in every way. The C5 on the other hand-nice. Although I enjoy humiliating corvette owners that can't autocross by beating them in a lowly f-body.

 

Well I blew my stock 10 bolt right after I installed the Delteq coil ignition which made my 383 run way better. I guess that was enough to push the puny rearend over the edge finally.

So buying another weak 10 bolt is simply out of the question when I'm making about 500 FWHP with my setup. Yes I spent a lot on the 12 bolt, but there is really nothing else you can do short of buying used which I am very against (bad experiences with anything used).

 

After breaking my 10-bolt 3 times in the last 3yrs with nothing but bolt-ons and DRs, she's parked for another couple of weeks waiting on a 12-bolt. If I had 4-channel ABS, I'd go with the 9". I have an Auto which is supposed to be "gentler" than a 6-spd on the rears but the last 2 ring gears have died on 1-2 shifts.

If you don't want to spend the money on a more 'bulletproof' rear for the F-bod and think Vettes and 'Stangs are so great, why did you buy an F-bod in the 1st place?

 

03 Cobra has IRS... but I agree, beating people with more expensive cars in an fbody is a good time

 

Thats easy: because at $6,000, it was a damn fun second car for a poor college student...

But now, its turning into a money pit, and I'm starting to reevaluate things. Modding these cars just isn't a good investment, unless you have a garage with a lift, so you don't have to pay too much labor, and you plan to keep the for a long time. For someone like me, who lives in a dorm, and can't do things like swap an engine in the parking lot, it makes more financial sense to buy a car that does what I want it to do without needing much labor.

The big question is, should I get a loan and a used c5/03 cobra or just give up my hobby until I graduate and get another escort?

Keeping the fbody is also still an option, but its hard to not want to mod these cars, and the more mods I do, the more parts I'll break. The more parts I break, the more money I throw away into the abyss...

Either way, I have to make a decision this weekend, as my car has been sitting for a while, and the shop owner probably won't be tollerant much longer.

So my options are:
Sell? = + Money

4.10/4.30 10-bolt? (~$600 in parts + $300 in labor) = -$1000 (rounding up)

12 bolt (~$2300 in parts, ~$150 in shipping, ~$200 for brakes, ~$400 in labor) = -$3000 (rounding down)

None of them seem like good options to me..

 

Why would you have to spend $200 for brakes? Just transfer over your current brakes. And $400 for labor It takes 30 min to swap our rears

Ive rebuilt my 10 bolt twice. I wish I would have just spent the $$ all at once, and went with the 12 bolt.