Putting a 91 Camaro RS rear end into a 92 Firebird - F-Body Online

corbett43 · 05-07-2008, 01:56 PM

Hello all,

Im new to the Firebird/Camaro forums, seems like a good place to get sound advice so Ill give it a whirl.

I have a 92 Firebird, for the most part its stock. It has the stock limited slip differential with drum brakes on the rear.

The rear end is starting to whine, moan, and sometimes grind when making slow, sharp turns. I fairly confident that there is no damaged gears in the differential, I think the backlash or something just needs to be adjusted or possibly draining it and filling it back up with the proper limited slip differential additive might do it as well.

I have a guy who is looking to sell the rear end off of a 91 Camaro LS that had an LS1 V-8 in it. So if I made the swap I could be killing two birds with one stone here; fixing and upgrading the differential and switiching the rear brakes from drum to discs.

Does anyone have any advise, comments, or suggestions they might be able to offer? I would think the rear end from the Camaro should fit into my Firebird no problem. I would just have to buy new rotors and , maybe calipers and pads.

Regardless if I don't swap out the entire rear end, does anyone have any ideas about the noises Im hearing from the differential?

Thanks

19Stroked89 · 05-09-2008, 04:07 AM

Welcome to FBO!! If that rearend in the Camaro is the stock rearend or at least a direct bolt in rearend than yes it will bolt right into your Firebird. Just be sure its in good shape. My main concern would be since it was behind an LS1 it could have had the crap ran out of it. Is the guy selling it someone you know?

As for the noises your rearend is making. It could be it just needs a oil change and a refill of limited slip additive. If that doesnt fix it just making a guess here sounds like either a worn ring and pinion gear set or possibly worn carrier bearings.

strc09 · 05-09-2008, 07:04 AM

I'd be leary of a rear-end behind a LS1 unless it was a 9-inch or 12-bolt. They should be a direct bolt in; however, if you're switching from drums to discs then you're going to also have to change your master cylinder and porportioning valve out to work with the disc brakes. On another note, I would at least have the one checked out really good before you put it in or have it rebuilt. That's just me though. Have a good one.

corbett43 · 05-09-2008, 03:40 PM

I don't really know the guy. I agree, I bet its probably not in the best shape after being behind a bigger motor than what it was intended for. The RS Camaros were lowest performance out of all the Camaros weren't they? Meaning the stock rear axle and gears would be no better than what I already have. I think I will drain it, take the cover off, see how things look, fill it back up with the correct GM additive and gear oil and see what happens. If you don't use the limited slip additive does it make a big difference?

I didn't think about the fact of having to replace the master cylinder and proportioning valve, thats a bummer. Sounds like this is going to be a winter project. I don't want her out of commission for a few weeks when I could be driving it in the nice weather.

corbett43 · 05-14-2008, 07:54 AM

Well I drained the diff. and took a look in there, everything seemed to have normal wear patterns and there were no metal flakes in the oil. Filled her back up with the proper additive and oil and she hasnt made a sound yet.

19Stroked89 · 05-15-2008, 03:52 AM

Sweet! Hopefully that was it and you will get off with a cheap easy fix!!