Same axle?

by 74maroonmonte Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:34 pm

A friend of mine had this happen to his rear axle:

Same axle? Cnc7n

I don't what year it is, but as you can see it's one of those 77-90 Caprice models. According to a book that I have on differentials these cars also came with the 8.5 10-bolts just like our cars. Does anyone know if the dimensions are the same. If the rear axles are identical I might be interested. He doesn't know too much about these axles and was already looking for a replacement and rendered this was as junk (I could get it cheap hehe).

I assume a c-clip broke. Could that be correct? I'm no expert on rear axles, but do know a thing or two about them, and it seems to me that something like this won't cause major damage. Should be rebuildable? I want to build me a nice posi rear end for my Buick. She already came with a posi from the factory, but still has the 2:73 gears. I want to go with 3:23 or 3:42 and was kinda looking for an extra rear end to rebuild and later swap them.

by The Dude Sat Jan 16, 2010 5:28 pm

SOME B-bodies came with the 8.5 rear. Better double check though because some of them did have the 7.5 rear. It does look like a C-clip broke. If that's the only thing that went, it shouldn't be too hard to fix. Since you plan on rebuilding it anyways, I would say go for it. There have been a couple of discussions about using Caprice rears. Check out the interchangeability section under G3 Tech.

I gotta ask, is that an actual police package car? If so, you're probably in luck. They usually got outfitted with all the better driveline parts.

by bigredlaguna Sun Jan 17, 2010 12:29 am

That model year might even have the same diameter for the wheel bolt pattern

by novaderrik Sun Jan 17, 2010 9:15 pm

if it has the same 5x4.75" bolt pattern as a 73-77 A body, then it has the smaller 7.5 rear axle in it.
the only 77-96 Caprices that i've ever seen with an 8.5 rear axle were the models with the HD suspension packages- cop cars and station wagons or cars with the towing package- and had the larger 5X5' bolt pattern with bigger 12" brakes in the front and bigger 11" drums (77-93) or 12" discs (94-96) in the rear.
starting in the '90 model year, all Caprices got the bigger 5X5" bolt pattern and 12" front brakes, regardless of which rear axle it had.

as for what happened to the car in the pic- the end of the axle that the c clip fits into probably snapped off. the rest of the axle should be just fine- pop the differential cover, remove the cross pin, take out the c clip and busted off end of the axle,jam a new axle shaft in it, replace the c clip and crosspin, reinstall the cover, fill with oil, and call it good.

by 74maroonmonte Mon Jan 18, 2010 4:40 pm

Thanks for the replies guys.

Right now I'm not at all sure if this is a 8.5", could very well be a 7.5". Guess I have to go and check it out.

I do know another guy near me who has a posi rear axle from a 73 Monte. I'm kinda after that one now. But he said he wasn't sure if he wants to sell it.
Maybe I should just grab the axle that's under my Buick right now, it is a posi too. Rebuild that one and throw in a new ring and pinion set (3.23 or 3.42 probably)....

No, this Caprice was not a police car. They painted it this way for fun. It used to be white. They just rolled over some areas with black.

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