Rearend upgrade at a fraction of the cost?

[Brazen C5]

Ive read this site where a guy upgraded his rear end gears (on a camaro) for a fraction of the cost to swap out a new assembly.

http://members.aol.com/blownf1/gears.html

Has anyone heard of doing this do a C5? I dont need the whole assembly for 1k.

If you know of any shops that would do this in the Bay Area, CA. please let me know. I tried calling a couple dealerships in San Jose, and they dont do this kind of work.

thanks, chris

[Mean Green 2000]

It's my understanding that no-one outside the BG plant has the proper equipment to swap out the rings/pinion/etc by opening up the carrier. Having said that...

West Coast Corvettes is offering a 3.90 gear set with computer, not sure of the price, but it's around $1800. This is an exchange, so basically they use your carrier and drop in the new internals.

3.73's are also out there but they are Getrag GM OEM gears and are expensive...hope this helps!

Mark

[Stingray]

Chris!
West Coast Corvettes
They do it all the time but they are pricey.

[Brazen C5]

Thanks for the info guys. This week Im picking up a set of 3.42's, now looking in the bay area for a quality installer to swap it out. Still researching for the right torque converter.

[VETTEX2]

What's so special about the rear end that you can't swap gears yourself?

[Brazen C5]

Never done a gear swap before, dont have the tools or place to work on it, and would be hesitant to practice on the corvette, and wouldnt be able to b*tch and complain at anyone else if it doesnt come out correctly.

Seriously, I dont know how involved it is to swap the internals, but the consensus on this and other boards is to swap a complete carrier. Just swapping the internals I hear is not recommended.

Mean Green added that there is a lack of proper equipment, and I think with that, there would also be a lack of experience out there.

btw - Mine is an auto, so Im looking for 3.42's and also looking to change out the torque converter at the same time.

Ive seen some feedback about Pro-Torque, Yank, and Vigilante, anyone have any positive or negative experiences with these or other TCs?