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Dana 36 to Dana 44 Conversion

vms4evr

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2001
Messages
466
Location
Durham, NC
Corvette
2002 Flat Black Z06
Hey folks,
I'm still on my trek to convert my Dana 36 w/2.59 gears into something meaner. I'm still kicking around the 3.54 or 3.73 gears. One guy I spoke with said he changed his 92 Dana 36 to the 3.73 gears and they are flat out awesome. I'm leaning towards the 3.54 to do some autocrossing and not drag racing.
But one comment was that if you want to run them hard consider using the Dana 44 because it is the 'heavy duty' version.
Will the Dana 36 take the 3.54 and live or 3.73?
3.54 was an order option in 92 so it seems it should be ok.
If I go with 3.73 then should I go to the Dana 44?
What else do I have to swap to convert to a Dana 44?
I'm sure with my luck you can't just swap the two carriers :eyerole
Graham
 
Whoa, check this out!

Go to the search button up there near the "community" banner, in between the "Register" button and the "Solid Axle Lounge" button, and enter 3.73 into the box at the upper left (keyword). I got so many hits that I just came right back to tell you so you can search it at your leisure. ;)

_ken
 
Ken,
Thanks. I already tried a search on 3.73 and Dana. That doesn't answer my questions though.
I want to know if a Dana 36 can take running 3.73 gears. Or whether it would be better to consider a Dana 36-44 swap. And if so what is involved in the swap. None of those answers show up in a search.
Thanks, Graham.
 
Graham,
I've had different gears installed in my '85. Stock, I had the Dana 36 with the 2.73 gears. I kept the Dana 36 and went with a 3.75 gear made my Richmond. My motor was also stock with a bunch of little bolt-ons though.
The gear change made an unbelievable difference in performance. It really woke the car up. However, I did lose some highway cruising. At 75mph, I was turning 2400 - 2500 RPM's......which we all know is halfway through the power band on L-98's.
If your running a basically stock motor, your Dana 36 carrier will have no problem running as large as a 3.75. I wouldn't spend the extra $$ to convert to Dana 44........let us know what happens

Jay
 
Thanks Tourismo. I checked out the changes he made. I'll pass on the Dana 44 upgrade. It's more than I want to get into. But I like that Supercharger he shoe-horned into his Vette :D

Thanks, Jay. I was wondering how well it would take to it. 2.59 to 3.54 or 3.75 is a big jump. I'll try it with the Dana 36 and see how long it lasts ;) I calculated the rpms already for both gears and the 3.54 is more reasonable. My LT1 is pretty much stock and will stay that way. It's about 2500rpm@75mph. Which is just barely waking the LT1 up :D

This is going to be my Xmas present so I'm impatiently waiting until December to get it done...

Graham
 
Good choice on the Dana 36 gears Graham........I don't really think the car needs a 44. I do recommend Richmond gears though. I've ran them along with a few other vetter's out there with no problems. Keep us posted on what you end up getting

Jay
 

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