alright first off , did my 93z come with 2.73's? also is it 2 or 3 series ? im not sure what this means but i read something about it ? also which brand gears? motive or strange n e others? also besides the ring and pinion what else will i need to install them? i heard swapping to 3.73s is a night and day difference. also how am i supposed 2 calibrate my speedo since i have a 93? ANY info would be much appreciated
thanks

 

Dude,

If you have 2.73s and are moving to 3.73s, it is a BIG change.
I just went from 2.73s to 3.42s this past week. I dealt with SLP, so here's my list to give you an idea;

Ring and Pinion
I got mine on the board here for big savings.

Series 3 differential
You need to change the series 2 carrier, or differential to a series 3 to work with the new gear set.

Gear installation kit
All the "stuff", bearings, shims, etc, you will need to replace everything in the rear.


Aluminium Differential cover
The stock plate cover is weak. This will help strengthen the rear housing somewhat and it has a better design to keep the new gears cooler.

Lastly, the cost of labor in getting the gear change done. Lots of pros and cons here, but I had mine done at a Chevy dealership that I have a good relationship with. It still cost me $450+, but they weren't too many local shops that I would trust my 97TA to, and I didn't have the means, time and confidence to do this in my own garage.


The only thing I "missed" and now I'm struggling to figure out on correcting, is the gear change will throw off the speedometer big time. I have to do "55" on the guage in order to be doing the 45mph speed limit. Having a 4L60E (auto trans), so I either have to put in a black box converter inline on the speed sending cable or get the PCM (computer) edited for the gear change. The 97's and newer are electronic in this area, but a 93 you might be able to change the gear at the sending unit coming out of the tranny, if so, the part is real cheap. I'm not sure about this point, so someone else will have to let you know how to correct the speedo.

But don't fret or be scared about doing the change, the little bit I did get to experience the new gear change, was the getting the feeling that the back end is really pushing me down the road. I gave a good gas pedal and the tires chirped going into second... on an automatic! But the roads were getting wet from rain so I played it safe and parked the 97TA. Can't wait to get it down to the track and collect some better ETs.

--ron

 

thanks for alll the help ron! this makes things a lot easier. when comparing 3.42s to 3.73s is there a huge diff? also approx how much did everyhing cost? (if the only things you need are the ones you listed then i can add it up) i didnt know if you bought n e thing else. also how long do u think it would take to install yourself? i cant afford the $450 for just labor. plus i love working on my car. thanks again !

 

I went from 2.73s to 3.73s, i didnt buy a new series 3 differential or anything. I just got the "thick" gears that are made for a 2 series carrier.

Luckily for me a I found a place in houston that did my rear end gears for about $150... All i supply is the ring and pinion, and they take care of the rest. They did a great job too

 

Yeah, I heard that too, you could get the gears for the series2 carrier, but I decided that since the whole rear is out, and the housing had to be grind slightly for the new diff cover, I might as well get a new series3 carrier and then it would be one thing less to worry about. Plus I have nearly 70K on the car, so if I'm paying the labor cost... let's replace everything!

My total was bit higher than the parts I listed since I had some other work done while the 97TA was on the lift. There was some SLP sub frame connectors put on. The Ring and Pinion I got for $100. Everything else just needs to be added up. I listed just the labor cost of the dealership for the rear. But it's just a little bit high because of the right axle replacement.

I'm not sure the time element for this to be done at home. I guessing a day? And since I didn't do the work, I can't say what the difficulty would be either. Sorry. But Robert95z has a good point, maybe you can find someone local that could do it in your price range, or might just give you a hand or some pointers when you do it.

ron

 

Robert a dude here told me the same thing! Just bring him the ring and pinion and some gear lube and he would do it for 150. Alot of people are telling me i needed install kit, programmer, carrier, and ring and pinion. I guess the other folks are right though and its gonna cost about 800 to get gears done, parts and all. Keep in mind mine is a 2001 model. Probably different then the 95-97's etc..?

 

Well i had PCM4Less programming before i even had gears, and when i got them Byran reprogrammed my pcm for free