squirrels

I recently got a set of Motives installed and they whine like crazy. I've had two different techs try resetting the pinion depth several times and they still couldn't get them to quiet down. It looks like it's the gears.

If I was going to buy another set, should I just get the Motives again? What is the "best" brand of gears for the stock 10-bolt rear (3.42s to be precise)?

Thanks

Unusual T/A

Its not the gears. You're installers are morons. The motives are generally the quietest. I had 3.73's in mine and NO WHINE at all.

Derek98z

iTrader: (55)

Aren't Motives identical to GM's just a harder material? The GM's are supposed to be softer, hence quieter. Or am I backwards?
Regardless, I'd say GM are the best, but I had good luck with some Motive 3.73's in the past

squirrels

I don't know about that. These guys specialize in F-body performance. The vendor I got them from suggested that the initial install might've been a little off and may have grooved them, but they said they checked it for any grooves and found none.

So the Motives are probably my best bet?

Unusual T/A

Who cares if they specialize in fbody performance? That means nothing when it comes to gear installs. You need to have someone do it who specializes in rear ends.

Keenov

iTrader: (5)

My 4.10's don't whine at all and a shop that specializes in "Mustang Performance" did mine. The guy knew his gears though

It is the shop, don't be fooled.

scalemaster

iTrader: (3)

slp have them also and GM use them

chicane

USGear.

USGear was the OE supplier to GM in the 60's and still, to this day, do they supply the gearsets for the more difficult/problematic gearsets to GM and the rest in the Big Three.

Motive's are not the same. They are not OE. They are Italian and are of completely different metallurgy and hardness.

If your gearset whines, it is most likely the installation or the fact that something changed since the installation.......more like a bearing wasnt fully seated and now has caused a change in a single parameter. So yea, I say its the cat screwing your parts together.

There is more to getting the little anorexic 7.5" 10 bolt to live in peace when people start screwing hotrod parts onto/into their rides. Needless to say, the most critical to this would be compensating for ring gear tooth flex under load. Ya gotta know what your doing or its gona makes noise and it will fail.......its just a question of when.

Mean Green z28

iTrader: (17)

with my experience and from what I've heard, GM gears are less likely to whine than anything else on the market.

leres

I agree; I just installed GM 3.73's and they're totally quiet.

My stock GM 3.42's weren't quiet but of course that's because SLP didn't check/reset the backlash when they installed the Auburn. I ran the car for 20K miles, not knowing any better (after all the gears were quieter than the ones in my '65 Mustang with 280K miles) and by the time my buddy helped me check the backlash, we found it was about 0.013" and it was to late to do anything but adjust it back to spec and quiet the gears a little (and not have them get any louder, of course).

squirrels

These gears have been whining since they were installed. They whine more on the back side of the gear (off the throttle/decelerating), but once I get up to speed, it's still pretty significant on OR off the throttle.

While I'm not sure about the original installation, when they couldn't get it right they called in ANOTHER tech who's worked with F-bodies a LOT and done MANY gear installs and HE couldn't get them right either. They both agreed that it was the gears.

Now the shop I took it to told me they would order some new gears, but it's been a month or so now and I haven't heard back from them except apologies and promises, so I'm about to take it somewhere else.

Now a ring/pinion install anywhere else can be $250+, so I only want to get this done once. If you were me, would you:

-Buy a new set of gears right off the bat and let them install those gears
-Assume that the gears in there are fine, it's installer error, and let another shop take a whack at them

Also, would you recommend OEM GM gears over the Motives for quietness? How do they stack up durability-wise?

Thanks
-squirrels

Mean Green z28

iTrader: (17)

seeing you're in Baltimore, where'd you take the car to? Ring and pinion install is +250? how does 175 sound? You can PM me, don't need to be badmouthing buisnesses on national forums.
Like I and many others said before, GM gears are by far the quietest. Other brands tend to whine. And once they whine the first time, there's almost nothing you can do to readjust them 'cos they've already worn in. I would say live with it 'cos that's just what aftermarket gears do but if it bothers you, then replace it.

leres

I agree; if you break in a new set of gears while they whine, they'll always whine even if the setup is later corrected.

squirrels

So you're saying that regardless of whether these gears were bad from the factory or it was installer error, now they're pretty much a write-off?

I mean, I can drive on them, they just sound like *** and I'm not confident about racing on them (I don't race that often, but this is my only car and I can't afford down-time on it). Plus it sounds lame when you take a girl out or something and your ****'s whining.

Let me flip this on you, Mean Green...do you know of any place IN this area that do GOOD gear installs? I'm not going to drop names...although part of me wants to because I feel like I'm getting jacked around now, but I still don't know for sure what the deal is.

Thanks

Mean Green z28

iTrader: (17)

you've got a PM

Unusual T/A

Basically since they already have a set pattern and they are whining any change in that pattern setup wise will make no difference and could add more whine. The whine is not bad as far as race wise goes IMO.