Basic walkthrough (common issues) with full 10 bolt swap from donor car
06-13-2006, 11:56 AM
#1
Basic walkthrough (common issues) with full 10 bolt swap from donor car Hey all,
I've got a '00 w/ 2.73's. Buddy needs the LS1 brakes, so I'm thinking about picking up a boneyard 3.42 axle (whole thing) and popping it on my car. The boneyard has a 60 day warranty on parts so to that end I have some limited coverage against bad bearings or gears.
I did search, but most of the threads seem to assume this is so simple the answers seem to be "unbolt and bolt the new one in...". I'm looking for a little more detail than this. I know I need a 4 channel rear, and I know I want to use a manual take-off for the 3.42's. 3.23's would also be ok but I figure might as well get that little something extra for the effort...
How bad is this to do? For the most part it seems to me that it is a pretty straightforward undo and redo a bunch of bolts type of job, with the main problem being working with the sheer mass of the diff itself.
Anyone have any tips, or common problems/obstacles?
- Should I plan on buying new u-joints?
- On the same note, will my steel driveshaft be a problem w/ 3.42's? Aluminum shafts are all over the place, but that's another $150-200 in the bill...
- Are there any other parts that need replaced or that sort of "wear" into each other that need replacing? I think the only thing would be the rear u-joint...
- Do I have to be concerned with any of the gear settings when doing this? I think all of the lash/pinion settings aren't impacted by this at all, but is that right?
Oh, and I already have a predator to handle the speedo correction.
Thanks in advance!
I've got a '00 w/ 2.73's. Buddy needs the LS1 brakes, so I'm thinking about picking up a boneyard 3.42 axle (whole thing) and popping it on my car. The boneyard has a 60 day warranty on parts so to that end I have some limited coverage against bad bearings or gears.
I did search, but most of the threads seem to assume this is so simple the answers seem to be "unbolt and bolt the new one in...". I'm looking for a little more detail than this. I know I need a 4 channel rear, and I know I want to use a manual take-off for the 3.42's. 3.23's would also be ok but I figure might as well get that little something extra for the effort...
How bad is this to do? For the most part it seems to me that it is a pretty straightforward undo and redo a bunch of bolts type of job, with the main problem being working with the sheer mass of the diff itself.
Anyone have any tips, or common problems/obstacles?
- Should I plan on buying new u-joints?
- On the same note, will my steel driveshaft be a problem w/ 3.42's? Aluminum shafts are all over the place, but that's another $150-200 in the bill...
- Are there any other parts that need replaced or that sort of "wear" into each other that need replacing? I think the only thing would be the rear u-joint...
- Do I have to be concerned with any of the gear settings when doing this? I think all of the lash/pinion settings aren't impacted by this at all, but is that right?
Oh, and I already have a predator to handle the speedo correction.
Thanks in advance!
06-13-2006, 01:38 PM
#2
TECH Senior Member
As long as it's a complete LS1 rear TCS to TCS you shouldn't have any problems. I have one out of an M6 car (neither had TCS) just plugged in the sensor on the pumpkin, changed gear ratios and drove it. Kept my steel DS, didn't replace U-joints and it's been fine. Remember the '98 had the auburn, 99 & up are torsen if that makes a difference to you...and unless you have a 2.XX version Predator you'll have to do the tire size change thing to get the speedo correct.
06-13-2006, 01:43 PM
#3
Your u-joints should be fine (unless you know you have a problem with them already). Installing an entire rear end won't affect any of the inside measurements.
It really is very straightforward, undo a bunch of bolts and put it back together. Here is a link to a write up I did for installing a 12 bolt - theres lots of pics though to get you through removing the 10 bolt.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...nstall+12+bolt
It really is very straightforward, undo a bunch of bolts and put it back together. Here is a link to a write up I did for installing a 12 bolt - theres lots of pics though to get you through removing the 10 bolt.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...nstall+12+bolt
06-13-2006, 02:22 PM
#4
Wow, thanks for the feedback and that link, it was great.
I've had a couple people recommend going with an aluminum driveshaft. I think the critical speed of the steel shaft can be exceeded with 3.42's... anyone know if this is just another old urban legend?
My predator is a 2.12 I think. I had an old one that fried my PCM, diablosport fixed the PCM and shipped it back with the latest model predator. Scary experience but it worked out in the end I suppose.
It's looking like I could pull this off allright after all. It's so tempting.
I've had a couple people recommend going with an aluminum driveshaft. I think the critical speed of the steel shaft can be exceeded with 3.42's... anyone know if this is just another old urban legend?
My predator is a 2.12 I think. I had an old one that fried my PCM, diablosport fixed the PCM and shipped it back with the latest model predator. Scary experience but it worked out in the end I suppose.
It's looking like I could pull this off allright after all. It's so tempting.
