WS6 Rear End Conversion

[fredbmxer4life]

Was looking at rear ends on ebay really want to put a ws6 rear end in my 3.8 (to many traction problems) and i found a decent one with a nice price only problem is it has Traction Control. My firebird doesnt, so i was wondering if i bolted it up to my 3.8 and didnt hook up the traction control will it mess up the rear end or will it be okay without a computer to control it?

[Meatyshells]

Re: WS6 Rear End Conversion

your abs wouldnt work, best to find a v8 car that didnt come with traction control

[fredbmxer4life]

Re: WS6 Rear End Conversion

aight thanks, all i needed to know before i hit the buy button lol. Did all the v8's 98-02 come with lsd?

[Firebirdkid96]

Re: WS6 Rear End Conversion

all v8's came with lsd, dont look specifically for a ws6 rear

[notsonic]

Re: WS6 Rear End Conversion

dont swap the rear end.

youll probably end up with bent axles or a improperly set pinion angle.

or problems with the brakes.

or

etc.

your best bet is to get an lsd/gears and have em installed in the rear you have.

[crushedout]

Re: WS6 Rear End Conversion

dont swap the rear end.

youll probably end up with bent axles or a improperly set pinion angle.

or problems with the brakes.

or

etc.

your best bet is to get an lsd/gears and have em installed in the rear you have.

I dont agree with this statement at all and I had problems when doing my swap and it took almost 6 months for me to do it. OP may have problems or may not and the OP doesn't give specifics on there car so maybe there updating to disc rear also and want the 2 for 1 deal they can get to swap whole rear end. Mayne they want the sense of accomplishment of doing job there self. To blindly tell them to buy gears and have them installed is a very one sided opinion. An option yes, but only one option of many. What does OP want to accomplish out of the swap?

[calvo]

Re: WS6 Rear End Conversion

all u would have to do is swap over the abs ring to the new gear set and drill a hole for the sensor to go into the diff housing on the top its how i did mine works great i have a 99 camaro 3.8 a4 and got my buddys old rear end with 4.10s out of his ws6 when he went to a 12 bolt rear end

[Meatyshells]

Re: WS6 Rear End Conversion

yeah its not hard to find a bunch of different rear ends out of a v8 car because they usually dump them for a stronger one. But if you want a direct swap, you need a 3 channel rear i believe (ls1 engine with out traction control) 4channels are the ones that came with traction control, or ASR

[notsonic]

Re: WS6 Rear End Conversion

with a junkyard axle you dont know what you're getting till its in.

with mine i had to replace an axle shaft, new bearings, and the gears howl which means i need to have the pinion reset.

if you already have a 98+ with discs, its much easier to swap out the differential than the whole axle.

if you have a shop do it you can also replace the carrier bearings while youre in there and ensure your pinion angle is correct. most people cant set the pinion in their driveway.


you also have to figure why was this rear in the junkyard anyway? v8 upgrading to a bigger/better rear end means that something could be broken. and the number one way to total an fbody is rear quarter panel damage, which could definitely imply axle damage. (curbed, pole, tboned, etc.)


if i could do it all over again i would have just changed my drums over to discs and had a shop install my gears/lsd rather than swapping the axle.

swapping the axle is easier but it has the potential to create a whole mess of new problems.

[Meatyshells]

Re: WS6 Rear End Conversion

or you can find one that didnt come from a junk yard (craigs list)

like i did and havent had a problem ever sence.