My 93 was ripped off and had the rear end trashed. Wondering if it's okay to install a Dana 36 with 3.73 gears instead of finding a replacement original? I've built Jeeps but am a novice at working on my vette. Appreciate feedback.

 

Can fit D36 from any C4 ; you will probably enjoy the 3.73's

 

Yes, but if you have a 6 speed, you will have to change the driveshaft.
If you have a A4 and stock engine, you are not going to get any MPG and you will be running over 3k rpm's on the highway.
I am looking at gears also, my thoughts are you should do some research first, if you are looking to make it a stoplight warrior only, then get the gears, if it is your DD, then your wallet is going to stay a lot lighter.

 

Check out zip corvette for a replacement

 

Most LT1s were saddled with 2.59s and a gear swap is the best bang for the performance buck. The 700r4/4l60/4l60E has a .70 overdrive. which will tame the 3.73s and lessen the fuel mileage hit.

With 3.73 rear and the A4 overdrive of 0.70 and with engine speed a hair over 3000 rpm you will be driving 90 mph. Hardly a highway cruising speed. With stock tires and 3.73 rear your 70 mph speed you will be spinning around 2400.

www.f-body.org/gears/ has a great calculator use the A4 f body chart and enter your tire size and desired gear ratio.

I'm not a stoplight warrior and I went with 3.45 since it was in the stock dana 44 I installed in my car and it did not hurt my top end. It was my first round of mods and I averaged around 30MPG on the highway (when engine was stock)
after the gear swap which was about a 1 or 2 mpg drop.
Mike

 

You are comparing your m6 to a a4???
First off, my friend has a stock 92 w/3.54 and his mpg dropped 3 mpg in town and about 9-10 highway. That is a HUGE drop and there are several threads I have seen, since researching gears, where the poster has stated that the 3.73's were to much for a stock LT1 a4 and went to other gears.

 

A4 and have a set of 3.75 going in, that is the real set, no 3.73 for an auto, and the ones who do the swap do it looking for the fun factor and generally don't regret it.

If you own a vette for gas milage don't change it, if you wnat a vette to be a sports car put them in.

I have been in auto and stick with all different gear sets and intakes. I love the low gears, and they are not that low, only for first gear, because of the trans.

 

The best mod, bang for your buck is gears in a LT1 automatic. As said above the Auto 4sp has overdrive.
In my case, I went from 2.59 to 3.54 and was still getting mid 20's mpg. When I put the 4.09's in, at the same time I did the heads, cam and headers. Even with all of that I still got 22 mpg on the highway. But all of that was before I blew the motor.

 

You should have perused my original post...however, since you didn't I will spell it OUT I have an A4 repeat I have an A4 ....I installed a D44 that still had the stock 3.45s in it. If your buddy is not getting mid 20s on the highway in a stock LT1 with 3.54s something is wrong. (is his converter locking? is he using good gas or does it have a lot of ethanol in it???) I no longer average 30 MPG but I'm in the mid 20s if I can keep the speed reasonable and the fuel alcohol free *

I know that 95-96s seem to get better mileage however, I have a friend with a 92 he went out of his way for 3.33s now he wants to go higher. So my actual experience and that of folks I know (in the real world) are different from what you have read in a thread.


Have a great day...

Mike

*that is a fillup to fillup calculated average since I don't trust the dash calculations due to my engine changes....honestly you cant take most of the internet talk for gospel check out my signature...according to the internet gurus my car is unstreetable.
However, its street manner are so mild that my oldest daughter used to drive it to high school on occasion and my wife often drives it to work

 

Someone stole your car and unbolted your rear end and left the rest of it??

 

Was just curious really. If the diff is broken inside perhaps you can rebuild the d44 ?

 

Someone stole the car and broke the diff case - not repairable. Remember, I'm a novice corvette guy and I know that I have the 2.59 gears. If I can keep my hwy rpm's at 75 mph below 2700 or 2800, I'm good with that. My trip to work is only 11 miles.

 

I've found a Dana 36 3.73 - will the 36 fit if I have a 44?

 

If your car left the factory with an auto trans, it had a dana 36.
If it left with a stick it had a dana 44.
What do you have, auto or stick?
If auto, was the car converted to a dana 44?

 

My car is totally stock. Auto trans with original rearend. I was very unimpressed with the "off the line" performance when I got the car so when it was stolen and had the diff case busted I thought it was a good chance to put quicker gears in it. I don't want to make a $1000.00 mistake so I'm asking for the opinions of those of you who are experienced with vette's. I never realized how much I loved this car until it was taken from me. Thanks for your help.

 

In that case, your dana 36 3:73 pumpkin is a direct bolt in, with only speedo gears needing to be changed. You will likely be able to rotate the speedo sensor 180 degrees with the new speedo gears, saving you cash.

 

Thanks for the input. I just hope that I am not going too far by putting 3.73's in my car. I guess I do want to be a stop light warrior to an extent but not at the risk of making my car scream down the highway with high rpms.

 

using this on line calculator http://www.angelfire.com/fl/procrastination/rear.html

I assumed the following, 26in tires, .70 final ratio, 3.73 gears, and 2500rpms would be 75mph.
Believe me, the gears will make a big difference in the car. 2.59 gears makes these cars real dogs.

 

using this on line calculator http://www.angelfire.com/fl/procrastination/rear.html

I assumed the following, 26in tires, .70 final ratio, 3.73 gears, and 2500rpms would be 75mph.

 

When my car was on the street, I had a 3.73 Dana 44 with a 700r4. I felt it was a perfect ratio. On the freeway, 75mph was about 2300-2400rpm.