Who makes and sells the best gear sets for the 3.55 and 3.91 ratios along with the rebuild kits for the bearings and so forth. If the answer includes Summit can you point out the item numbers in their catalog?
i stole this.............. Found this at 442.com. Hope it's the same for1966. 1967-1970 "O" Axle Overhaul Kit: Until now, many items required to properly overhaul an O axle were unavailable (Chevy 12 bolt parts do not interchange). Which meant reusing the old parts. This often results in premature bearing wear and shortened ring & pinion life. Our new kit includes the following items required for a complete differential overhaul and/or ring & pinion change: carrier bearings/races, pinion bearings/races, ring gear bolts, our new crush sleeve, case side shims, pinion lock nut, marking compound, Loctite pinion seal, cover gasket and sealer. Available for all 1967 thru 1970 (A body) O axle 12 bolts. Open or Anti-Spin. Specify year and ratio. Complete kit priced at $159.95. Available only from the mechanical parts specialists at Supercars Unlimited. Where Cutlass/442 is ALL we do! Supercars Unlimited 8029 A SW 17th Portland, OR 97219 PH: (503) 244-8249 FX: (503) 244-9639 "O" Axle Parts: Check with the gear suppliers that advertise in just about every worthwhile auto magazine. Ring and pinion gears are now available also. Either Perfection American or Zoom. A great dealer I have used it Drive Train Specilaties (DTS). They (as well as others) even have the shims, bearings, seals and gaskets in kit form so the rear can be set up properly.
Thanks John I was thinking the 66 is a 12 bolt cover but a 10 bolt inside. I need to find out and this is a good lead.
as was wrote, Supercars carries the Type O stuff for 67-70. Since your car is a 66, I believe you have the 8.2 rear end (same as my 66 GTO) as the 67 was the first year for the Type O summit probably carries the Olds specific stuff, but it usually isn't in the catalog. You have to ask the salesperson. Any rear end vendor would have the install kits, Randy's Ring and Pinon, Drive Train Specialties to name a couple. As for the gears, I think Richmond carries brand new 3.55 and 3.90 ratios if you can't use your original gears. I have more specific info at home as I asked a guy in PA who builds rearends the same question about rebuild kits and reusing the original 3.55 gears in the 8.2 for my goat.
I did call Randy's and they do not know squat about Olds. They are not listed in the names of cars. They did say the 66 rears were 8.5 ring gears 28 splines which is not correct and they had a rebuild kits only no gears. So they are off the list. Ours is an 8.2 P type 27 spline 1.438 diameter pinion. I read on the Supercars site they are likely to have a cone type posi which cannot be rebuilt. I am closing in on the problem and solution I hope.
Absolutely correct, Jim. That 8.2 did have a cone type posi and are not rebuildable. I don't know offhand of anyone that makes posi and R & P parts for these anymore. We've been putting them back together with parts scavenged from used units for years. I rejected the one that Gary put in your car and gave it to him for free. It came out of a 65 442 that got hit real hard on the Right rear wheel. He had someone put it in, wouldn't touch it myself. I run nothing but Chevy 12 bolts in all my cars (including the Ramrod). Easy to find, reasonably priced, and everyone sells parts for them. Canadian built Olds used them. Put the original aside. 66-67 has the same track width as a 68-72 (64-65 is 1 inch narrower), so it's a drop in. I have a 71 Chevelle 12 bolt in my 66. I'd go with a 3.73 ratio in that car. If you want to stay with this 8.2 rear, the best you could do would be to find a 4 pinion Pontiac posi unit for it. Olds only used that for part of 1967 (W30 only) and it's virtually bulletproof. I think Pontiac used them for a lot more years, so shouldn't be too hard to locate one. It still is a cone type, but is so strong, the cones didn't slip like the spring types and burn out the conical surfaces. Used ones are in the $400-$600 range. Not cheap. I would suggest contacting someone like Reider Racing who specializes in performance rear ends. They would know if there's anything available to rebuild your unit, or what direction you may go. They run ads in Hot Rod, Car Craft, etc. Dave
Now you guys are coming through. Our current gear set is a 3.91. The rear is not locked up but just not smooth like a carrier bearing or somenting is going away. The pinion seal is leaking and the rear cover does not have a gasket just a sealant smear so it needs an R and R. What are the odds the gear set is ok? Have you guys ever used the repro 3.55 or the 3.91 Rcihmond gear sets from Summit.( $259)? I am trying not to tear into it and then find I do not have what is necessary to complete the job. I also have access to another 66 rear --drum to drum.
Here is a complete rebuild kit, including Eaton posi carrier, and your choice of gears (3.55 to 4.56 ratio) all for $749. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&tc=photo&item=7964408661&category=33731 I haven't dealt with them, I merely saved the link at some point...
Thanks Walt That is an interesting package. It looks good, its on Ebay for several days BUT,BUT you cannot bid on it ---only Buy It Now for the asking price. I have never seen that before.
So Bald Menace, Are you cutting the pocket for the cone deeper so it can go in .150' further? Sounds like a good idea. I have thought about this before, but I was thinking you could machine some off the small end of the cone so it would go deeper. Would that work? o No:
