Looking for rear-end (differential) overhaul recommendations

everything replaced including the chunk/gearset.

Make sure that whoever does the work has the tools to do it.. sounds stupid but I've seen it many times. If you don't set it up properly it will make noise.. I've always called it 'singing'.

If you've staying fairly 'normal' with your rear end choices, you might consider getting a complete rear end from a rebuilder (like Jasper) and having a local shop swap it out. Better warranty and I'd trust them more to set it up correctly than some of the local shops I've seen. I'm also local to Raleigh. Drop an e-mail if you'd like more information.

1996 with a blown rear end.. what happened?

Jim

128,000 miles, known issue on Camaros... You should see all the highway patroll cars! Every single one has had this issue. I wouldn't say it's blown, just worn out. All the bearings are shot. I'm told this is the same rear end used on the vegas from way back- bad move on a 275HP car! But it doesn't seem to be from too much punch. And boy does this one sing as well- I'm told this is normal for gears with this many miles on them.

BTW, the dealer (Hendrick in Cary) is giving me all this info, and wants $2500 to rebuild it. Seems a bit high to me; I'm halfway torn between letting it go completely, rebuilding it myself (check out

) and getting a rebuilt unit and swapping it out myself. I feel like I could at least swap it out myself, if I had a good option for a good rebuild, something with a good warranty. My intent is to stay "mostly stock" - that is, same ratio, nothing fancy - this car is a daily driver and whatnot.

I'll check out jasper...

Thanks, Josh

I checked out some performance options and whatnot... What turned me off mostly was the modification needed to get the things in (i.e. panhard bracket modification, etc) as they were not direct bolt-on according to what I had read...

I called another local shop I've used in the past for some light stuff (Brown's Alignment if you're local to Raleigh). They quoted me $1800 for a jasper rebuild (including installation) which I think is great- 3 years, 75k warranty! I think that's great and I'm going to jump. The only downside is that jasper currently does not have any fourth-gen F body differentials in stock, so it'll take about 3 weeks to ship mine there and back to be rebuilt.

I honestly have not abused this car- although on occasion I have driven it harder than one would a conventional vehicle. Of course I got it with 67k miles on it about 5 years ago, so how knows what its previous life was like. I feel like the car has been well-maintained since I got it with regular scheduled maintenance, minor work done by myself and major work done by the dealer.

I've heard various reports that this differential is just a bad design... although never really any specifics.

Thanks, Josh

$1800 for a rear end assembly?? Have you even pulled the cover off?? Whats the rear end lube look like? Is it full? Are the bearings singing, the posi clunking or what... Other than putting a ring and pinion in with the required setting of the side and pinion clearences the rest of it is just good ole hard work. If you truly believe that it is a bad design why do you want to replace it with the same thing???