Car is a 76 Scamp with 225. I've finished the front suspension and brake upgrade and am moving on to the rear.
Plan is to pull the 7.25 out and replace with 8.75. I looked for an 8.25 for a while bit never found one. The reason for the upgrade is:
1. To be able to put disc brakes on rear
2. Big bolt pattern
3. Longer rear to avoid the need for as much wheel spacer with modern wheels
I know the 225 doesn't NEED the 8.75, but it's what I could find.
I got a nice housing and axles from a relatively local Mopar scrapper but he didn't have any 3rd members. It's out of a B-body so a few inches longer which I needed for wheel spacing.
The scrapper guy called me a couple weeks later as he'd come across a 3rd member which was reported as a 742 case, open diff, with 2.76 gears. It turned freely in one direction, but the other direction there were some sticky spots that took a good bit more effort to turn by hand than the free spinning direction. It was only $50, so figured it was a good starting point.
Upon looking closer, I did see the ring gear has some chipped/broken teeth, so I decided to tear it apart, replace gears, and rebuild before putting in the car. It came apart much easier than expected, for once.
My questions are:
1. Is this actually an open diff? It doesn't really look like the open diff pics I've found online and looks more like the sure-grip ones?
2. Is there a way to test the diff for damage other than simply rebuilding it all and getting it in the car? I'm putting together an order to Dr Diff for the new gears/seals/bearings/etc. I'm torn on whether I should just go ahead and buy one of his sure-trac units and replace this one, or if there is a test to confirm this one is good. Again, the 225 doesn't "need" the sure-trac with its "overwhelming" power (lol), but I don't really find any new/rebuilt options for replacement open diffs anywhere- it seems everyone wants sure grip so that is what is available.
Plan is to pull the 7.25 out and replace with 8.75. I looked for an 8.25 for a while bit never found one. The reason for the upgrade is:
1. To be able to put disc brakes on rear
2. Big bolt pattern
3. Longer rear to avoid the need for as much wheel spacer with modern wheels
I know the 225 doesn't NEED the 8.75, but it's what I could find.
I got a nice housing and axles from a relatively local Mopar scrapper but he didn't have any 3rd members. It's out of a B-body so a few inches longer which I needed for wheel spacing.
The scrapper guy called me a couple weeks later as he'd come across a 3rd member which was reported as a 742 case, open diff, with 2.76 gears. It turned freely in one direction, but the other direction there were some sticky spots that took a good bit more effort to turn by hand than the free spinning direction. It was only $50, so figured it was a good starting point.
Upon looking closer, I did see the ring gear has some chipped/broken teeth, so I decided to tear it apart, replace gears, and rebuild before putting in the car. It came apart much easier than expected, for once.
My questions are:
1. Is this actually an open diff? It doesn't really look like the open diff pics I've found online and looks more like the sure-grip ones?
2. Is there a way to test the diff for damage other than simply rebuilding it all and getting it in the car? I'm putting together an order to Dr Diff for the new gears/seals/bearings/etc. I'm torn on whether I should just go ahead and buy one of his sure-trac units and replace this one, or if there is a test to confirm this one is good. Again, the 225 doesn't "need" the sure-trac with its "overwhelming" power (lol), but I don't really find any new/rebuilt options for replacement open diffs anywhere- it seems everyone wants sure grip so that is what is available.