OK trying to get a rear diff outta my 69 done, want to swap out 4.10 for somethin a little taller. Ask on Here, are all 67?-78? diffs the same?? Answer...yes... ship diff off to shop in town A, with my 3.70 set to rebuild & install. Of cousre phone call.. 3.70 won't fit..OK .. Call a big gear shop in big city B.. reall friendly guys say " I know those older vettes, of course 3.70s won't fit but I have a set of good used 3.36s that'll fit" .. right on $$ ship them to shop A
Shop A phones..new gear set won't fit either , by now of course I've found out from Here, about Series 3 & 4 carriers.. phone shop B "I've got a good carrier those gears will fit" , will the new bearing & stuff outa my now rebuilt carrier 4 fit? "I donno!!" WHAT to do?? shop A doesn't know if they'll fit either! Don't any of these shops have reference books? ....OK-ok ship carrier to shop A more $$.
Living rural it's really hard to live with 4.10s
Now I'm waiting to hear what's up now

OOhh to live somewhere..less remote..where the availability of knowledgable shops are


Rant OFF for now..just had to get it off my chest

 

I looked at the catalogs earlier this year, the entire pumpkin is somewhere around $700 (your choice of gears).... how much do these people charge to change gears for you ?? With all the trouble you seem to have you may just want to buy a pumpkin and sell yours on Ebay... many people want 4.10 gears.....

 

Yes, the bearings, seals, and clutchpack are the same 65-79. It doesn't matter if it's a 3 series or 4 series carrier. 63-64 use a thinner side shim and a dana carrier but the bearings and seals are the same.
Mike

 

Just for your info, shop A wanted $900. for a new set of gears

 

it seems you're better off just buying one from one of our favorite Vette parts suppliers.....$900 is a lot of money...

 

Unfortunately your story isn't uncommon. A lot of "local" shops will say they can rebuild them only to mess them up or just order one from a vette supplier anyway. Setting up a 65-79 isn't any harder then another chevy 10 bolt. If they didn't know about the carrier differences they shouldn't be working on your car.
$900 for a good rebuild w/ new gears isn't out of line.For comparison the ones I do run about $1,000 depending on the condition. You really have to compare what is done before stating the cost is too high or a deal. If they're just replacing the bearings and clutches then that is high, if they are adding side yokes, new gears, paint,drain plug and custom fitting and tuning it that's the price to pay. When I'm asked to do a custom job with all I listed for $650 I decline the job because I'd be working for nothing.
Gary

 

Gary; The $900 was for the gears alone!!

Well the saga continues

Got a call from shop A yest afternoon, it seems the carrier shop B sent to hold the 3.36s (that shop B sent & wouldn't fit) is also a seriers 4 carrier, won't fit

 

$900 for ring & pinion gears alone??? WOW that is a rip off. they should be in the $300 range for good US made gears. The most one of my custom rebuild ran was $1,300 and that was for near everything in the rear end. Good luck,
Gary

 

Ya know, people could get a lot more help if they put their home location in their profile!

We have a local guy that does an excellent job on rear ends and trailing arms at a very good price, but I am hesitant to recommend him, as shipping costs may be excessive.

People, we are not going to steal your 'vette! Let us know where you are.

 

The Ontario in my profil? is Ontario, Canada

Very hard to find ANY specialized shops up here

New update, shop A says he's tired of trying to assemble dif with parts that don't fit!! Shipped diff, three sets of gears now! two carriers of the shop B who's supplying the parts that apparently are either wrong or don't fit!

For my own information, is there any way I can I.D. a series #3 from a #4 carrier??

 

A "gear shop" that doesn't know about 3 and 4 series carriers is a real bad sign. This was not Corvette specific. All GM axles had different carriers depending on the gear series (2, 3 and 4 series).

I would cut my losses and ship it off to someone that knows what thery're doing like Gary (gtr1999) or Mike (tracdogg2).

If they can't find pieces that fit I'd be real worried that they don't know how to set them up correctly. It's not just bolting it together. Setting up a gearset to where it lives a long life and is quiet is an artform. Gary & Mike know how to do it.

 

Thanks Zwede but shipping a 50-80lb box 1-2000 miles across the border really isn't an option if I want it back this year. The shop it was shipped to is Toronto, well over a million pop & supposed to have been one of the better shops??

Any idea how I can ID a seriers 3 from a series 4 carrier??

 

The difference is the thickness where the ring gear bolts up, a 4 series is about .430 thick where the 3 series is about .300 thick WHERE THE BOLTS GO THROUGH, this would be the thickness of the machined round portion of the carrier. The 3 series is also cut out or notched at each ring gear bolt and the 4 series is not. "measurements" are close as I am measuring two assembled diffs...
...redvetracr