Technical My potential excuse to swap to a 55 Chevy rear axle lol

So I have a g80 locker 3.42 7.5" rear end from a 2000 S10 4wd in my 53. I know on regular positrac rear ends a sign that the posi unit is getting worn is it'll spin the driver wheel but not the p***enger. On a gm locker are the symptoms similar? I've noticed the last few times I did a bit of a burnout only one wheel spin..... didn't register till today that it was always the driver side. Till today if just ***umed the locker wasn't locking. But obviously if the driver side is spinning it's at least partially engaging. Had planned on swapping to a 55 Chevy rear end with a 58 Chevy third member sometime in the foreseeable future anyway. Just wondering if this is just a perfect excuse to move the timeline up.

 

I though RPO G80 was limited slip?

 

Add some limited slip additive and see if it helps, both rear ends are weak units for beating on

 

In cars it was positrac. In pickups from like the 80s on it was a locker. I could hypothetically swap in the posi unit from an 89 or new f body but not really wanting to put much effort in this rear end. It was just handy when I was beginning the drivetrain swap and open drive conversion. And it was fairly low mileage. And free lol.

 

Engine im running will likely never produce over 300 at the flywheel. And it'll stay stock rear suspension. And not exactly meaty tires. 225/70/15s

 

I'll give additive a try but I was always led to understand with a locker it's not as imperative like on a clutch style as it's mechanical. I did run exact spec oil for it ..... though I don't remember what it was lol

 

If John Force were…

 

When you say "locker", do you mean the gov lock? From what I've heard, you don't want to be trying to do burnouts with it...at all....

When I think of "locker", I think of Detroit Locker, and it's a pretty durable unit. Not found in C clip axle rear ends, though

 

Yeah it's the gov bomb lol

 

Sounds like a great excuse to put an older rear in the car.

 

Kind of what I was thinking. Originally when I got this rear end four years ago I intended to keep it in long term....and not just during the build. But I've never quite been happy with it and my displeasure with it increases regularly lol. I have the complete 58 Chevy rear end and am supposed to be getting a 5& Chevy rear end with a bad third member. I'm thinking I'll combine the two and get a correct driveshaft built for it. Oddly both the S10 rear and the 58 Chevy rear both use the same length driveshaft. In any event it'd be a two birds one stone deal. Ditch the ****py rear and get the right driveshaft. Not to mention for the older rear I have perfect backing plates with mint installed in 1969 shoes that I then installed new wheel cylinders in. That's another thing about the S10 rear. Id still need to finish setting up the rear brakes

 

Now you got my attention what is a gov locker?
Dan

 

It's just the low cost cheaply made locker gm put in trucks for decades. Still uses normal spider gears etc. they like to come apart under heavy use

 

The weak part of the 7.5" axle is the axles shafts themselves. I had one in a car build I used because it was already narrowed and had Dutchman axles, and finer 30 spline side gears and axles. I hammered on that little posi trying to break it, but it held up great. Not sure if the 3.73 gears were stock ones, or if they'd been changed also? But it was a great rear axle for a wimpy 7.5" version.

 

The gov lock is a posi that does not have springs, to give it constant friction. Instead, it has a centrifugal weight that applies pressure to the posi clutch, when one wheel spins faster than the other. It's a neat idea, but they didn't make them strong enough.

here's a before and after.

 

Oops
Thanks guys I never heard of them before.
Dan

 

It'll buff out!

 

does the weight swing out from centerline/ have kind of a cam side to move the clutches??

 

exploded view. The engagement mechanism is the centrifugal thingy that turns the cam plate, when the speed difference between the side gears is high enough. But the problem is that it locks up very quickly.

The lockout weight (the big one) disables it when the vehicle speed is high enough.

 

so the way the camplate and spider engage allow for 'slipping' as the pieces are together in those 'peaks and valleys' ??
and you would feel that clunk and clunk as they do?

 

I POSI - tively agree ....he he he

 

Detroit Lockers are available for a wide variety of C-clip axles.

Notable examples:
Chrysler 8.25
Ford 8.8
Dana 35
GM 12-bolt
GM 10-bolt
...and quite a number of others.

 

If it’s. 2000 rear end, would a Zexel Torsen fit?

Not made for 9 second cars, but were covered under warranty with 400HP manuals.

 

Talking about a stock f body posi? Yeah it's be a direct fit. Honestly though I really don't want to put any work into this rear end. As I said I'm not exactly happy with it. Wasn't even concerned with a locking differential. Just happened to be in this particular rear end. And like the price was perfect on it. Basically I was getting ready to pull the stock closed drive rear end from the car and I was able to get this rear end with under 100k on in exchange for hauling it off. Even if I don't end up with the 55 Chevy rear end I already have a complete 58 rear end with the brackets removed and a pair of perches ready to weld on.

 

Honestly the more I think about it the more I wanna go ahead and swap rear ends. I need to get under the car and measure for a proper driveshaft. Be nice to get away from the conversion u joints too. If I get the driveshaft before taking delivery of the 55 rear end I may just go ahead and weld perches on my 58 rear and throw that in. And I can simply just set angle on it to match the current rear lol. Still amazes me that the S10 and the 58 Chevy rear have the same axle centerline to u joint centerline measurements

 

What about an Olds/Pontiac 9.3" rear ...... '55 Chevy rears aren't that strong either.
Admittedly it would be substantially more expensive with all of the good bits included but it would be near unbreakable.

 

Yes, the 4th gen’s.
But there was so much talk about the GovLock, I’d thought you might be swing that way

 

So they do have actual clutches? Guess it is possible it's simply worn out

 

There is more interchange in the automotive world than anyone realises.