Ring and pinion changeout

OK team, I havent posted here much but I am doing a ring and pinion swap to a new set of 3.73's.  reading in the service manual I see there is the ABS sensor ring on the pinion shaft...is this thing re-useable..??  has anyone here re-installed the "used one"??

I may have answered my own question...the sensor ring is discontinued so I will re-use the old one regardless.

Someone will check in with more details but you need the ABS reluctor ring for that gearing. I had a car that had 3.23 put in but left the old reluctor ring and the ABS was not working. I bought the part for 25~ which isnt too bad, though it normally would be much less. While youre in there you might as well do it right if you can~

From a knowledgeable gentleman who helped me fix it. This is of course in reference to my application but change the numbers to apply to your gear set.

"For the ABS the previous owner didn't change the ABS reluctor (sometimes referred to as tone ring) on the pinion. The car's ABS is 3 channel. It measures the back info through that little gear on the pinion, whose # of teeth is determined by the gear ratio. He left the old one reluctor on, so the car "knows" something is wrong when it counts the revolutions. You need to get an ABS reluctor for 3.23 gear set. A lot of guys, mechanics included, don't know you have to change it and use the old one."

I guess I risk the ABS not working, cuz nothing is available anywhere to replace the existing.

You don't "risk" it not working, it simply won't work. If you want it to work, you need the correct reluctor for 3.73s. GM sold out of them a couple of years ago. However, if you know where to look, you can get something. Bob Shirley makes them, and one of our friends in Canada may have OEM GM units still available.

Helps when you know people even Jay!  

I did find a new ring, but by the time I get it at my door..$200.  I will go without ABS, and yes each ring is suited to match gear ratios. talking with GM, they said the ABS was krap in that generation anyway...and I dont drive it in the winter anyway...so bye bye ABS.

You won't miss the ABS. All it ever did for me is to put me in the middle of an intersection, when I could have stopped well short if I did not have it.

Keep the ABS functional, for resale, originality and insurance/safety reasons. Now is the time, when you have it apart. I have a 3.73 reluctor I can sell you for a lot less than $200, send me a PM and let's make it happen.

sherlock9c1 wrote:

Keep the ABS functional, for resale, originality and insurance/safety reasons.  Now is the time, when you have it apart.  I have a 3.73 reluctor I can sell you for a lot less than $200, send me a PM and let's make it happen.

I strongly agree with Joel,if you have a accident and your insurance company finds out you deliberately disabled your ABS,hope you have a great lawyer.

"I didnt know it wasnt working"...  

what a bunch of drama,.
"originality",.."Lawyers".

how old is the car now?
Will it ever be a "restored" classic?
Just swap gears,. drive it ,. have fun,.

sheesh,. reality check please.

I strongly agree with Phantom309. While I am sure the owner LOVES his car, a 91 Caprice Wagon will never be worth anything to anyone outside of wagon folks.

I doubt the guy is too worried about originality or resale value with 20's and altered exhaust

completed the swap...works great, ABS is not an issue, I took the bulb out..so theres nothing wrong. Just have to get my speedo set right now.. I am with Phantom and woody, I want this car to be fun for ME to drive...very small market for resale on this anyway, so whatever..its what I want.

Ursula wrote:

ABS is not an issue, I took the bulb out..so theres nothing wrong.

Ill have to try that the next time the SES light comes on or better yet the low gas light. Good luck with car!

Well, when people swap out their airbag steering wheel for one that doesn't......they normally pull the bulb.

Do people really need a low fuel light? If you can't read a fuel gauge.

My ABS bulb has been pulled for going on 6 years now. I have yet to be in a major accident or have my car randomly explode.

94Woody wrote:

Well, when people swap out their airbag steering wheel for one that doesn't......they normally pull the bulb.

Do people really need a low fuel light? If you can't read a fuel gauge.

My ABS bulb has been pulled for going on 6 years now. I have yet to be in a major accident or have my car randomly explode.

please don't upset the sheep,.. they will have a hard time getting the wool over your eyes..

Just for information for anyone else who's considering whether to get a right abs reluctor for his/her new ring and pinion set or not...

I just swapped my 2.93 ring and pinion for 3.42's. While many sellers listed the abs reluctor, only place I could find that really had one was this:
http://www.drivetrainspecialists.com/
It was $97 and they claimed they had 59 pcs of them at the time I was asking (I think it was at least a month ago). I can't say anything about the reluctors for other gear ratios though.

I'm personally not a big fan of ABS, and could very well live without it. But we have annual inspections here, and if the car was originally equipped with abs, it must work. So if I discarded the reluctor, I would have to somehow fool the abs light to lighten up for a period of time after the ignition is turned on. I think then I would also be responsible to inform about the abs not functioning, if someone else was driving my car, or IF I someday sold it, and I don't trust my memory that much. Despite the additional cost, I think putting in the right reluctor was the best way do it; I still have the option to disable if I wanted to.

To sort out the ratio you need for the gearing and your speedometer, go here: http://www.transmissioncenter.net/, then select the SPEEDOMETER WORLD about half way down the page. There are tables and a calculation formula to find the gear you need. You currently have an 18 tooth drive gear for your VSS. The gear you need may not be available, and if it is not, you can get a pulse modifier and wire it into the VSS circuit. To change gears, you may have to get a different VSS, because the tooth count of the gear determines the VSS unit. 40 and over requires one type, and 39 and under requires a different one.

"I just swapped my 2.93 ring and pinion for 3.42's."

That's the gear ratio I was wanting to swap to. How do you like it?