I have a 1995 firebird with a noisy rearend that has 3.73 gears in it. I need to fix it and don't really want the 3.73 gears. I can get a used rear end for $100 but am not sure what will fit. Are a drum brake and disc brake one the same? Can I take the drum brake set up off of one and put my disc brake set up on it? Looks like it might be a bolt on bolt off swap. Also what year cars can I pull one from? Thanks.

 

Just change the gears and not the whole rearend. Cost way less and there is no need to cange the rear unless you are looking to go to 12 bold or something like that. You should be able to change the brakes out. There is a lot about that in other threads. Do a search and you will find some more info.

 

You also need to verify if the rear end you're putting in has the same ABS/TCS setup as yours, either 3 channel or 4 channel. 98+ rear ends are the same as 93-97 except for the brake backing plates. I'm not sure if disc brakes will bolt right in over drums, someone else could verify that. Maybe check the V6 section?

 

By "95 Firebird" do you mean you have a base V6 car, or do you in fact have a 95 Formula or T/A?

Generally, the drum brake rears are from V6 cars, and do not have the posi differential. You definitely want disc brakes and a posi if you have a V8.

93-97 will interchange completely, except for the 3-channel (ABS) or 4-channel (ABS + TCS) issue mentioned in the post above. 98 and up have different brakes, and the E-brake is not compatible with the 93-97 cable setup.

You also need to be aware that there are three different stock rear axle ratios that were used in the V8 cars - 2.73, 3.23 and 3.42. Each of those will affect stree performance an fuel mileage differently. The V6's also had a 3.08 rear axle ratio.

 

Should have put in the original post that it is a 5.7 V8 with disc brakes and no traction control. Would I be correct that a 4 channel can be identified by electrical connections at the wheels for the traction control? Thanks.