[DonM]

I'm slowly going over the car and changing all the fluids. The cooling system has been flushed, and today, the trans and diff were serviced. The transmission was OK, fluid as pretty dirty, but OK. The differential, however ....

Pulled the plug and the nastiest, blackest, worst-smelling goop I have ever seen runs out. Along with a ton of shavings (chunks) and a rather large piece of a shim plate!!!

Guess the previous owner wasn't very gentle on the car, and didn't believe too much in changing fluids.

My shop looked at every single source they knew of the get new gear, but after a LONG, involved search, they discovered that I had to options ... Try my luck with FINDING a used diff in good condition (something I DON'T want to do), or buy an entire, whole new unit from GM.

Like mentioned, total cost will be just under $3,100 out the door. I guess GM is making these units "Throw-aways," as NO ONE has any kind of parts, it's either a whole new unit or nothing.

On the bright side - I've been in contact with Tracy Lewis Racing to get a proper tune and that will improve the everyday driveability and (hopefully) let the car get a damned E-Check. It's been reading "Not Ready To Test" for over 6 months

[SomeGeoffGuy]

I thought the gears were welded in now too. At least you found it before you were stranded!

-Geoff

[cdrptrks]

They're not hard to find. Here's one for about 1/5 of the new price you're complaining about (I'm unsure if that includes labor or not). It has a 6 month warranty; it is probably from a totaled car.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/315665764725

[Joshinator99]

Originally Posted by cdrptrks

They're not hard to find. Here's one for about 1/5 of the new price you're complaining about (I'm unsure if that includes labor or not). It has a 6 month warranty; it is probably from a totaled car.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/315665764725

Agreed, I bought a spare SS diff assuming that I would inevitably destroy my original one lol. The spare has 35K miles on it and I bought it for ~$500. So it’s sitting on the shelf ready to go for when D Day happens…

[speedyink1]

Some people tend to forget about the differential. It may have been the original fluid.

[cmitchell17]

Originally Posted by DonM

I'm slowly going over the car and changing all the fluids. The cooling system has been flushed, and today, the trans and diff were serviced. The transmission was OK, fluid as pretty dirty, but OK. The differential, however ....

Pulled the plug and the nastiest, blackest, worst-smelling goop I have ever seen runs out. Along with a ton of shavings (chunks) and a rather large piece of a shim plate!!!

Guess the previous owner wasn't very gentle on the car, and didn't believe too much in changing fluids.

My shop looked at every single source they knew of the get new gear, but after a LONG, involved search, they discovered that I had to options ... Try my luck with FINDING a used diff in good condition (something I DON'T want to do), or buy an entire, whole new unit from GM.

Like mentioned, total cost will be just under $3,100 out the door. I guess GM is making these units "Throw-aways," as NO ONE has any kind of parts, it's either a whole new unit or nothing.

On the bright side - I've been in contact with Tracy Lewis Racing to get a proper tune and that will improve the everyday driveability and (hopefully) let the car get a damned E-Check. It's been reading "Not Ready To Test" for over 6 months

You said you saw shim/washer? I think this is a common failure, mine did this too at around 100k.

The higher geared 6 speed differentials are harder to find than the automatic ones.

[KingLT1]

Over the years I have seen plenty of low mileage diffs for sale in the 5-800.00 price range. That is what I would go with before I bought a new one. They are pretty reliable as long as you properly service them. I do agree the 3.73 diff that comes in the manuals is the hardest to find. The V6 1LE have a 3.23 that wouldn't be horrible if you can't find a 3.73.

[m6-lt1]

If you truly want a new one I 100% guarantee you the diff for your camaro is NOT $3,100. That’s the price if you order it from the dealer. Look online and order it from a GM parts website. Just make sure you get the right one as there are many different variations of diffs for the 6th Gen camaro (different gear ratios for auto/manual equipped cars and different diffs based on the engine and performance packages. For perspective

SS 1le/zl1 diff = $3,100
SS diff = $1,600

I believe based on your signature you have a v6 Camaro. There’s no way a v6 Camaro diff costs what an SS 1le/zl1 diff costs. It’s probably cheaper than the standard SS diff.

[Ventmaster]

Or it may be the same diff used in the SS on your manual V6. I know Chevy used the same diff in the manual V6 on the 5th Gen cars. I put the Richmond 3.73 gear in mine. Worked great. Don't know for sure they followed the same path with the 6 Gen but maybe?
It would definitely increase your chances at finding a good used one.

[dmcmahan60]

Good luck with your situation and I added to your other post

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by DonM

My shop looked at every single source they knew of the get new gear, but after a LONG, involved search, they discovered that I had two options ... Try my luck with FINDING a used diff in good condition (something I DON'T want to do), or buy an entire, whole new unit from GM.

I would not trust a shop to find the exact part given the variety of fitment options.
If you can't find it yourself, post all pertinent info here and someone will find a cheaper source for you. I understand you do not want to go the used/ebay route.

EDIT: I just found this one:
https://www.gmpartsgiant.com/parts/g...;t=M13;m=1AH37)

A good thread with pictures, although this is changing from LSD for auto to LSD for manual on a V6. This post has part numbers:
https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showp...5&postcount=41

[dmcmahan60]

https://www.gmpartsgiant.com/parts-l...rier_rear.html
Many options here. The manual options are more than the auto.

[DonM]

Originally Posted by speedyink1

Some people tend to forget about the differential. It may have been the original fluid.

It definitely was the original fluid (80k miles) it was FILTHY, BURNT and full of debris. Obviously it had never been changed and most definitely abused.

[DonM]

Originally Posted by m6-lt1

If you truly want a new one I 100% guarantee you the diff for your camaro is NOT $3,100. That’s the price if you order it from the dealer. Look online and order it from a GM parts website. Just make sure you get the right one as there are many different variations of diffs for the 6th Gen camaro (different gear ratios for auto/manual equipped cars and different diffs based on the engine and performance packages. For perspective

SS 1le/zl1 diff = $3,100
SS diff = $1,600

I believe based on your signature you have a v6 Camaro. There’s no way a v6 Camaro diff costs what an SS 1le/zl1 diff costs. It’s probably cheaper than the standard SS diff.

Yes, a V6 manual. The new diff is ~ $2,000, the rest is labor. That's why I said $3,100 out the door