So the pops said a 8 1/4 has a weak pinion gear. Any thoughts?
I don't have an o-pinion on that, I'm an 8 3/4 guy....
So the pops said a 8 1/4 has a weak pinion gear. Any thoughts?
First thing is to look at the picture below and figure out which rear end you have for sure. Best way is to start counting bolts on the cover and comparing shapes. I believe the 7.25 also had a 10 bolt version that was more octagonal. Best hope is you have an oval (8.25 or round 8.75)
If you have the 7.25, I would start looking for something bigger.
Good luck.
i blew an 8 1/4 to peices in a scamp.... had a 904 with 318 small 484 cam and stock internals... 360 heads.. BOOOMMM!!!!!
And yet they worked just fine in the 71+ B-bodies with 383/727's, even though that combo would weigh more, have more horsepower, and have a crap load more torque than that Scamp.
The 8.25" is more than capable of handling a sub-300hp 318 like the one you described. Either yours was in poor repair to begin with, or you abused the crap out of it. You can break anything if you try hard enough.
can only tell you what happened.... had a well built 904 with a rather mellow engine... was on the main drag in my town hit second under hard acceleration and bang sounded like a shotgun... limped to side and rear was in piece internally.... so yes it can happen and you say i abused the crap out of it... isnt that what street racing and drag racing does...? those many cycles of hard hits? good god.. lets remember thats what this sport is about to some of us.... gettting some power to the ground and if that doesnt abuse the rear then...
fine that use his advice go with an 8 1/4...... if they are so good then why do we use 8 3/4 and 60's.......... BECAUSE THEY TAKE THE ABUSE OF HORSEPOWER.
If you've got the coin to spend, it's worth the upgrade to build a Dana. I talked to Dr. Diff and he said it would cost about $800 more to build a NEW Dana rear than to build up a used 8 3/4 to the same level. It's bullet proof and nothing else says bad *** like seeing that cover poking out under the gas tank.
This is a GREAT diagram. I found it very helpful! I saved it for future reference. Thanks for posting this!