Another S10 rear end post

[dallin95]

Sorry to be the guy who asks the same thing as everybody else, haha, but yesterday i was driving my 75 cosworth Vega and I launched and broke the pinion shaft. I knew the rear end wouldnt be able to hold the power, but i was surprised i broke it so fast, my question is, which years of S10 have the right rear end to swap in. I know i have to cut and weld mounts and such. and also, is there a good way to know if the rear end is a posi/gov-lock, besides a rear sway bar? Im going to go junkyard hunting and its freezing in utah, and i dont want to spend hours pulling diff covers, haha.

[dallin95]

i should add, the car has an aluminum headed 355, with about 400hp, that might help

[RamIt]

Sticky tires? manual trans?
Unfortunately "or fortunately, how ever you look at it" your cosworth has the 7.5" torque arm rear end so there is no bolt in torque arm replacement other than Monza's, sunbirds, starfires.
You can beef up the rear to withstand some decent abuse.
Check out jdrace.com and private message monzaz on this board.

*edit* You can buy a 9" bolt in rear from http://www.overkillracecars.com but Justin has taken a hiatus from making h-body parts until he gets caught up with other projects.

[dallin95]

street tires and a turbo 350, i was just launching it off the stall. i know that the s10 rear end wont bolt in, but i know that you can cut the mounts off and use the ones off the vega rear end. My only question, is, does it have to be a square body s10 or will any 2wd work?

[RamIt]

Your cosworth lacks the upper arm mounts that the earlier vegas had and the s10 lacks the torque arm mount so the s10 rear wont work for you.
There are a few here making your power or more using the stock 7.5" housing but i am not the one that can answer the questions about beefing one up.
I'm sad to hear that yours blew up on the first squeeze. I have a 75 cosworth and am in the process of dropping in a 360hp L31 crate motor with a cam upgrade and a 5 speed.
I'm not looking forward to dealing with blowing up the stock rear. I did that back in 1984 in my monza and had the axle slide out around a corner.

[vegastre]

is there a good way to know if the rear end is a posi/gov-lock,

This thread should help... viewtopic.php?f=10&t=39996

[bugdewde]

......... does it have to be a square body s10 or will any 2wd work?

According to this post.... any 2WD will work. BUT , as you know, they don't have provisions for the torque arm that runs from the trans to the rear(along side the drive shaft). Lots of set-up time, cutting, measuring, welding, etc.....
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=31946

To avoid any welding of brackets, mounts and such.... why not use the original housing and swap in a later(94-newer) 7.5" 28-spline carrier and axle shafts into your original 7.5 housing. You have to use a conversion pinion bearing (part number is listed in the FAQ, I'm sure), or have the pinion shaft turned down to accept the smaller pinion bearing of the original 7.5". No cutting, measuring, welding, etc.... but you will have to set up the shims/pre-load/backlash of the new carrier into the original housing.
See section 3.11 of the FAQ...... http://h-body.org/library/hbodyfaq/index.html

Monzaz shipped me the 28-spline carrier, ring and pinion gears, modified the pinion shaft for me AND sent me some 28-spline axle shafts. He IS the rear end guy on this forum.

[dallin95]

so i pulled the diff cover off and found that the ring and pinion were still intact and the spider gears and posi unit were in pieces, this was actually somewhat of a relief, im considering a minispool, and was curious, do i need a 26 or a 28 spline spool, and what other components (seals and such) would i need?

[RamIt]

Stock they came with 26 spline axles.