is it normal for the rear end to whine if i just got a 373 gear in?

 

Anytime you mess with the stock rear by changing gear ratio it is going to whine. Many things can cause this from poor or incorrect install & wrong cut on gears and using wore parts etc. etc. Also if you used Richmond Gears just expect them to whine, they are racing products.

 

thats exactly what i have is richmond so is that the reason

 

I had a set of Richmond 3.73's that whined pretty bad ... my Richmond 4.10's were quiet though.

 

I have the richmond 3.73's too. They whine a little but no louder than the noise my tires make on the road surface.

 

I have 3.73s, no whine. who did the install? Go back and re-check everything. Did you shim it?

 

Just because they whine does not mean they are installed incorectly, expecially if they're Richmond. Aftermarket gears aren't machined to operate quietly like factory gears are, they are machined for strength. It's the surface finish on the gears that are causing this whine. I just completely rebuilt the third member in my 9-inch, new everything, set it up with the correct amount of backlash and tooth contact pattern and they whine like crazy. It's kind of hit and miss.

 

If the gears whine is excessive, I would guess there is a problem.
Remember, contact pattern, and back lash are the most critical. The contact pattern should be even and centered.

 

^ ^ ^ but like Jason said, sometimes it's not anything that's been done wrong ... it's just the gears. In the case of my 3.73's, my Dad and I did the initial installation (everything to perfect spec ... I was there!! ) but they whined. We pulled the thing apart, re-checked EVERYTHING (pinion depth was exactly as required by Richmond, backlash was perfect .008", and the pattern looked good) but they still whined. THEN took the car into a gear shop, where the guy pulled everything, said everything was bang on, but they still whined.

And yet my 4.10's that were actually slightly loose on the backlash, but still had a good pattern on them, were really quiet! They had a slight, slight whine under acceleration only, but that would go away on decel, and coasting. From all of my experience with gears, and a few of my friends, it really seems hit and miss.

 

I have Richmond 4.10's and as you get closer and closer to 80mph, they get louder and louder, then at 80, they just howl. But as I go faster and faster, they get more and more quiet, very weird

 

I have about 15 rear ends under my belt, I am just sharing my experiance. Fwiw, the most noise came from hardened gears (richmonds) and the least noise from soft gears (oem type). In both cases the noise is ninimal. Most OEM cars don't have gear noise... maby they are on to something? Again, I am not challanging your knowledge or questioning your experiance, I am just sharing the experiances I have had.
Your experiance should be like the one described by matLT1, much more than that and there could be an issue.

 

thanks guys