I'm looking into an 89 Auto with LSD for my 87. Was the gearing still 220? What are they worth, this one is fairly low miles - 56K.

Any difference from 87/88?

Thanks,
Glenn

 

iirc the 89 will have a different rear ratio, though that could be for later years.

whats it worth is always a good question about 500-1000 higher than a box without one. But the real question is how much are you willing to pay.

 

2.54 changed in 1989. LSD is worth more or less what you're willing to pay for it. For the wife's car it may be worth a lot, especially if she autocrosses regularly. I never use mine, but it's always good to know it's there I guess.

 

The 89 had different gear ratios in 1-3 too....4th is still the same at 1-1...the rear end ratio was 2.54.....yes it will work & it will give you a touch more pep at lower speed acceleration, but cost you a bit of fuel mileage at highway speeds.......

 

Glenn--

There are times, especially when cruising/touring, that I'd like to have the ~~12% "overdrive" that the 2.20 final drive gives compared with the 2.54. As a percentage of my total time in the car, that isn't enough to make me want to give up the extra snap that the 2.54 offers in L.A. traffic, or in my local mountain playground.

Go for the new box. If you decide that things are too busy, you can always put the 2.20 gears in. The pinion is a bolt on, but you'll need to set the lash and preload the carrier bearings. That can be done in the car I think, just need to drop the rear exhaust where it is in the way of the rear cover access.

 

I loved the gearing in my '89 a/t. That 2.54 seems perfect on the highway, with a lot of power at speed in 4th gear without downshifting. Well worth doing IMO.
'83-'88 2.20
'89-'95 2.54
(for US automatics)
The ROW got 2.54 from '87-'95.

 

Would the speedo drive gear need to be replaced also?

Thanks,
Glenn

 

No. It counts wheel revolutions independent of the gearset installed. The thing that affects speedo accuracy is tire diameter.

 

One thing I found with my 2.20 auto is that 1st and 2nd pull VERY strong......3rd drops off quite a bit...mostly due to the huge step in gearing....since the car will do about 85 in 2nd but almost 140mph in 3rd....... A 2.54 auto I drove had about a 120mph 3rd gear which pulls harder than my 3rd gear does.....

However one thing I LIKE about the 2.20 is when cruising at say 80+mph a quick stab of the pedal and it drops to 3rd and REALLY takes off compared to 4th......but of course going under 70mph will hit 2nd and your GONE......BWAAAHHHH think 60-80 in under 3 seconds

 

Thanks for the replies, I've decided to pick it up for $650 and put it in my non-LSD 87. It will give a little more low end acceleration but higher revs at cruising. I figure at this price and mileage it is a pretty good deal. I like the LSD in my 88 and was one of the things I looked for when buying it.

Thank you,
Glenn

 

Very good price plus you should be able to sell the original working trsnmission. Be sure that you check and adjust the front flex plate clamp when you swap transmissions to avoid excessive preload.

 

Thanks, I'm going with Constantine's clamp and a rebuilt torque tube while I'm there. I may get the torque converter modified and put in a shift kit while it's out. One thing leads to another but I plan on having this car a along time so I think it will be money and time well spent.

Glenn