nastyblakformula

ok, i have a 95 formula with the 3.42 ratio. series 3 carrier. I snapped an axel and it bent my driver rear end/shock mount and now my rear end sits half an inch to the passenger side off center. before i realized that i went to a boneyard and got an axel out of a 98 v6 camaro. seams to be fine besides my rear end being off center and a scratching grinding when making right turns. sounds like brakes.. (bearing..?) anyway, i decided id go back to the junkyard and get the rear end i snagged the axels out of, and the torque arm, panhard, anything that could have been bent in the sideways sliding axel breaking disaster. i got it home and realized that it was a 3.08 gear ratio which makes it a series 2 (its an open dif one wheel peel too! dammit!) so that leads me to my question. Can i take the guts (gears carrier and all) out of my stock rear end and put them in the 98 camaro rear end that is series 2 housing? they are both three channel abs, take the same axels and are both a 10 bolt. (im just gonna completely swap my brake system onto the axel right down to the caliper brackets on the ends of the axel housing) please help me, im going to take this rear end back and get my money back if i cant get any clearity. thanks guys, this is my first post on ls1tech but youve all helped me in the past more then you know. p.s. what about the bearings if i can swap it out?

BIG_MIKE2005

iTrader: (116)

I believe so. I kinda did a similar thing. I blew my stock rear which was a 3 series & bought a used posi off a buddy from a auto car. I needed new gears so I just grabbed a set on here & then found out there were from a 2 series. All I had to do was add a ring gear spacer & its been together for 100k miles since. Quiet as can be.

Now tossin in a 2 series posi might be a different story. My experience was limited to 2 series gears only.

nastyblakformula

what im wanting to do is take the series 2 stuff out and put in the series 3. cuz its posi and i like the 3.42...didnt know if the housing was universal to both types..

ANTICOP RAM AIR

iTrader: (7)

youre carrier will fit in the new rear housing... just make sure the axles have the same spline... if they are both 3channel you should be good to go... dont pull a bearing to use it in another housing.. just pay the 12$ and put in new ones.. you will most likely damage them removing them anyways...

PM 01redssa4 hes a pretty good drivetrain guru.. whatever he says, Id go with... Im 99% sure Im right but he would be a great source...

nastyblakformula

axels definetly have the same spline, i have them in my old offcentered rearend right now. lol sucks when ur project is ur only ride. good thing i work a block away. ill pm him as soon as i figure out how. im new to forum posting but ive been robbing them of info for several years. thank you guys for the help. ill take any opinions and direction i can get at this point.

would i have to change bearings? i figured the shafts on the pinion were different but i have no clue

FirstYrLS1Z

iTrader: (4)

The housings are the same,axles are the same as you already found out.
You want to put the carrier(posi) with ring gear and the pinion gear from the 95 into the 98 V6 housing,those parts are a compatable use in the V6 rear.
EXCEPT,you will have to check 'lash' and maybe adjust by playing with carrier shims.
If the large pinion bearing race in the V6 housing is OK/serviceable,you should be able to slap in your 3.42 pinion with large bearing still on and probably have an OK pinion gear depth as you're retaining/re-using the pinion shim.
Mark the carrier bearing race caps to put back in the original location as they're not interchageable because they're machined to the housing.
The posi carrier with ring gear will drop in and you'll have to try 2 of the 4 carrier shims you now have to get a proper lash,I shoot for .004-.006 with that 'used' 3.42 gearset. You might have to go get some other carrier shims to attain a proper lash. The shims have to be 'forced' in as just dropping in shims will not provide the proper bearing preload.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

^^^yep. And I answered the PM. For these cars, a 10 bolt housing is a 10 bolt housing basically. Brakes change a little, spline count changes a little (from 3rd to 4th gen), it may or may not have ASR, but the series is the gear/posi combo....it has nothing to do with the housing. As long as the series of carrier (i.e. posi, or open diff) matches the series of gear you can move it around to any 4th at will.

nastyblakformula

thanks for everything. ive never done anything but change axles so im probably gonna have someone else do the swap. dont knnow anything about lash or bearing preload or anything. i do have dial indicators because im a machinist. i make CAT parts, and i also press bearings into them, so a press is an easy access. i would try it but its my only ride so getting it done right the first time is important. ill try to get pics and bio up asap.
im thinking about buying a 3.90 ring and pinion for my series 3 carrier before having it done. not sure, kinda just wanna get it done. for the rear end being off center you cant tell when driving it, the only way you can tell is by one tire sticking out farther than the other which makes me feel like thats all anyone can see, lol.

so someone gave me a 4:65 ring and pinion for a 10 bolt. if i drop the clutch at 5k on slicks is my 10 bolt gonna explode? lol

4.56***

ANTICOP RAM AIR

iTrader: (7)

Most likely. Haha.