CTS velocity joints- C5 Corvette

[69c4x11]

Does anyone know if C5 v-joints will mate to a CTS-v getrag rearend??? Are splines the same?? Any info ??

[astroracer]

I don't believe there is any commonality between the two. The CTS-V uses an outside spline on the rear halfshafts which slips into the rear diff and the Corvette has an inside spline that slides over the output shaft on the diff.
You may have some luck checking pt no's at a dealer though. This is what I would suggest if no one else pops in here with a definitive answer.
Mark

[andrewb70]

I don't know this for a fact, but my gut feeling is that the parts are different. The CTS-V rear is a Getrag unit, while the Corvette transaxle is ???? Dana maybe? Not really sure.

What are you cooking up? I have a little experience dealing with various diffs in IRS setups, since I have the RX7. MIght have other suggestions for whatever issue your trying to solve.

Andrew

[69c4x11]

I'm tinkering with the idea of running C5 hubs,knuckles&modified control armsin a C2 66 coupe,, want to run IRS, C5 is thebest in my opinion????? Frame will be built to run some tucked meat.. no flares ,just replaced panels to get body back stock,,don't want to run 9" ford housing,anyone can do that !!!, going with C5 front suspension ,to get the meat under car,,,and right stance,,,Any suggestions?????????????????

[andrewb70]

I'm tinkering with the idea of running C5 hubs,knuckles&modified control armsin a C2 66 coupe,, want to run IRS, C5 is thebest in my opinion????? Frame will be built to run some tucked meat.. no flares ,just replaced panels to get body back stock,,don't want to run 9" ford housing,anyone can do that !!!, going with C5 front suspension ,to get the meat under car,,,and right stance,,,Any suggestions?????????????????

You can use a diff from an 03-04 Mustang Cobra. It has a 3.55 gear and 31 spline axles. The ring gear is 3.55 stock but any 8.8 Ford gearset will work. The diffs are cheap and plentiful as most Mustang guys ditch it in favor of a solid axle. Custom halfshafts can be made by The Driveshaft shop that will use a C5 outer CV, custom 300M bar and mate to the stock Mustang inner CV (very strong). I would also replace the stock Mustang cover with the one from a Ford Explorer.

Andrew

[69c4x11]

You can use a diff from an 03-04 Mustang Cobra. It has a 3.55 gear and 31 spline axles. The ring gear is 3.55 stock but any 8.8 Ford gearset will work. The diffs are cheap and plentiful as most Mustang guys ditch it in favor of a solid axle. Custom halfshafts can be made by The Driveshaft shop that will use a C5 outer CV, custom 300M bar and mate to the stock Mustang inner CV (very strong). I would also replace the stock Mustang cover with the one from a Ford Explorer.

AndrewAndy.. the c5 rearend is a Getrag unit.. I looked the other night at a Cobra rear on Ebay,,, and wondered how much abuse you could give it !!! Shurely it stronger than a Dana 36 unit ???Tell me about the Ford Explorer rearend ??

[andrewb70]

Andy.. the c5 rearend is a Getrag unit.. I looked the other night at a Cobra rear on Ebay,,, and wondered how much abuse you could give it !!! Shurely it stronger than a Dana 36 unit ???Tell me about the Ford Explorer rearend ??

The Cobra rear has the same internals as an 8.8 Ford solid axle. All internal parts are interchangable. Stock they come with a True Trak (I believe) limited slip and 3.55 gears. Any other brand of diff that is made for the 8.8 rear will swap in, although the stock units are stout. The ring gear is...8.8" diameter. The Dana 36 is 8" I believe. The Ford Explorer uses the same basic internals as the Mustang, although I am unclear as to the spline and diff type. The main reason I mentioned it is because of the rear cover. I like the internals of the Cobra rear, but the Explorer cover looks much more beefy and has those 2 mounting points cast right into the cover. So to me an ideal setup would be the Cobra diff and internals and the Explorer rear cover for easier mounting.

Andrew

[69c4x11]

Bought a 03 cobra IRs.. Going to narrow to 54",, Also picked up an Explorer rear cover ,,, It will also be easier and a better mount !! We have rear geometry drawn out, Waiting on Morrison mandrel bends, Also went with a Morrison front end {Mustang II},with 54" flange to flange,, Pieces should be here by Fri. Ready to get stsarted on chassis ,, Have body blocked, got to do alot of cutting on rear pan glass to fit down on new rear half,,,,,

[chicane67]

..... while the Corvette transaxle is ???? Dana maybe? Not really sure.
Its a Getrag unit as well.


I looked the other night at a Cobra rear on Ebay,,, and wondered how much abuse you could give it !!! Shurely it stronger than a Dana 36 unit ???Tell me about the Ford Explorer rearend ??
The Cobra rear is basically a Ford 8.8 converted to IRS stubs. If I were going to look at utilizing the C4 IRS, I would vie for the D44 version because its strength is far better than the 36 unit. I guess that is why GM used them in the ZR and F options and the same for why Dodge/Chrysler used it in the Viper. The Ford Explorer rear is, depending on year, the same thing as the IRS unit but a solid axle. The later model year IRS units might not fit so well as compared to the Cobra and/or T-bird units.

Th Cobra IRS system orginally came out of the T-bird. It was a pretty straight forward swap into a Stang.... as we did the first one back in '89 with the JBA Dominator http://www.teamdominator.com/index.html . Its a good system and will take a bunch of abuse. At first the engine was NA and then went forced induction and ended up producing around 600+hp but kept getting booted from events from being too loud. The mainstay event max level was 94dB....... it always seem to skirt 94-96dB.

The second time I build the diff was in '96 to put in 4.10's and the engine went back to a NA set up sometime around there. The only thing that was a challenge back then was the range of toe adjustment geometry was a little out of the window for its ride height. Other than that, it was a pretty kick@ss IRS.

[andrewb70]

Bought a 03 cobra IRs.. Going to narrow to 54",, Also picked up an Explorer rear cover ,,, It will also be easier and a better mount !! We have rear geometry drawn out, Waiting on Morrison mandrel bends, Also went with a Morrison front end {Mustang II},with 54" flange to flange,, Pieces should be here by Fri. Ready to get stsarted on chassis ,, Have body blocked, got to do alot of cutting on rear pan glass to fit down on new rear half,,,,,

Good deal! I just got an Explorer rear cover myself. It will definitely make a custom install much easier.

Andrew

[69c4x11]

Andrew,, What are you putting your IRS under ??? Any more Detail on your project ?? Roger

[andrewb70]

Andrew,, What are you putting your IRS under ??? Any more Detail on your project ?? Roger

Nothing terribly exciting. Just my POS RX7. It already has IRS, but I keep breaking the damn thing. Putting the Cobra diff will solve my durability issues. Hopefully....
Please keep us posted on your project. I am eager to see what you do for the actual suspension.

Andrew