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Old 03-15-2020, 05:34 PM
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10secbird 10secbird is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: California
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tom s View Post
think the weak spot will be between the main drive and the cluster.
What Tom said.

The 3.42 gearset has the lowest torque capacity rating of the available Super T-10 gear sets.

The 3.42 main drive gear(gear on end of input shaft) is much smaller in diameter than the gear it is driving on the front of the cluster gear.

The strongest arrangement is when the input gear and the gear it drives on the cluster gear are closer to the same diameter. So that means that the closest ratio unit will be the strongest.

The 2.43 close ratio gearset is the strongest of the Super T-10 gearsets and is identified by 2 identifying grooves on the input shaft spline.

As far as not using 1st gear and avoiding drag race style launches, that will definitely help it live longer. But dont forget; the power flow for the speed gears 1st, 2cnd and 3rd flows through that same weaker maindrive gear and front cluster gear combo.

To illustrate, the 2.43 gear set has a 21 tooth maindrive gear driving a 28 tooth gear on the front of the cluster gear, while the 3.42 set has a pitifully small diameter 17 tooth input shaft driving a much larger dia 31 tooth gear on the front of the cluster gear.

Power flow for all gears except for 4th flow through the maindrive/cluster gear pair.

Curious, where did you get the 904 nodular iron case and is this a 1st design Super T-10 or a 2cnd Design Super T-10....or is it a Richmond (basically a 2cnd design)?

From a HotRod online article:
" the Super T10 that Pontiac specified for its high-torque 400 and 455s was a close-ratio unit with a First-gear ratio of 2.43:1, which happens to boast of the greatest torque capacity rating of any Super T10. ........... As years progressed, new lower-ratio gear sets were developed, and by 1980, a First-gear ratio of 3.42:1 was used with 301ci Pontiac and 305ci Chevy engines. The number of gear teeth required to achieve that ratio made the gears vulnerable.

The above speaks for itself .. wouldn't you say?


Here are the available gear-sets as listed by Richmond gear.
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Last edited by 10secbird; 03-15-2020 at 06:14 PM.