Do all GM 10 bolt 8.5 inch ring gear differentials use 28 spline, C-clip retained axles? I know the carriers can be different depending on ratio: carriers for 2.56 and numerically lower are not the same as carriers for 2.73 and higher. The ring and pinion in my Off Topic Custom Cruiser station wagon is going to need replacing, soon. I found a military surplus supplier who has complete, unused 3.08 differentials for MIL-SPEC GM trucks. AT $100, it looks like a good deal considering the cost of just a ring a pinion set alone. I know the MIL-SPEC ring and pinion will interchange with my present differential. It would be REALLY nice if the whole new one could just be plopped in! Any thoughts?
I think the c-clip axles are only used on Chevies. I know the axles on a '67 Firebird & 66 Tempest are not c-clipped while my '69 Camaro's are.
I need to know what type of car i will have the best chance of finding a 10 bolt 8.5 inch ring gear posi track rear end. year ,make,model . any help would be appreted
they do make 30 splined axles for them, i'm not sure what year they started but somewhere around 90 or so chevy trucks use em, they are c-clip
70's and early 80's Z-28 and Trans Ams. The Z-28's were geared a lot lower. The were pretty easy to find around here until scrapmetal prices went up and all the yards started bailing their cars. The early 10 bolt rearends were 8.2 and they aren't near as stout as the 8.5's. I think they went from 8.2 to 8.5 from 70 to 72. They started using them in pickups around 77.
camaros switched from 8.2 to 8.5 in 71. 82 up camaros were 7.5", a really weak rearend. 73-77 midsize GMs generally had the 8.5" rear watch out on gear ratios, lots of those 70s cars had gears in the mid to high 2s, and as mentioned you need a different diff case (or a thick ring gear) to use them with more performance oriented gear ratios
The Jalopy Journal
