I have a 97 a-4 coupe, with of course 2.73s. I'm looking at a diff from a 98 6 spd car. 3.42s Question, is it a big job to swap them out? I don't have a hoist. are the rear diffs pretty much bullet proof or are there any issues I should be worried about? Cracked housing, bad bearings, etc. It came from a stock car. Thanks

 

Its a big job IF you re not handy with tools....They re NOT even close to bulletproof.(i would install a DTE brace) Depends on mileage and how hard it was driven to say what shape the bearings are...and i wouldn t pay more than 600 for a stock(unbuilt) unit. ....my .02...

 

Its not that big a job but you will need a tranny jack and a good set of stands. If you are not careful you could damage some engine components when the drive train is lowered slightly to slide the rear end off the shaft past the trunk well. Do a search. There are a lot of posts on doing it with pics.

Here's a couple of links.
http://www.cajundude.com/differential5.htm
http://redshift.homestead.com/Drivetrain1.html

You will have to drop the rear cradle and support the trans while its out.
Could take about a day to do it with some help in your garage. I had a shop do mine, it took about 3-4 hours with a lift and they charged me about $250. That included labor, fluids and a retune for changing the gears and shift points.

There could be problems with a used rear end that you won't discover until its in. How many miles on it? I bought a stock Z06 3:42 rear new from a forum vendor a few years back for a little over a grand and no core charge. The Z06 unit is pretty stout put tougher rear ends than it have been blown up.

Its a good mod for an A4 and you should consider doing it. It will really wake up the car - especially going from a 2:73 rear. I had 3:15 gears and the difference was still very noticeable.

Good luck.

 

Took 4.5 hours on my buddies C6

 

http://mikemercury.home.att.net/342.htm

 

http://www.corvette-web-central.com/...ferential.html Try this link it has some good info. Check out the tags at the bottom also there might be more info out there.

 

I had to do it in my garage. Its not that bad took me about a day. But u should add a converter as well. Completely makes a a4 feel like it should.

 

I got a new ZO6 3.42 rear installed in my 03 A4 coupe. The shop works on Vettes primarily, and did it in about 2 hours, but they had a lift, trans jack, etc. A great mod for the money IMPO, along with my Vararam.

 

Other than searching through the FS adds here on the forum, is there a good national outlet for picking up a Z rear end? I'm looking to go from 2:73 to 3:42 in the next week or so as well.