What type of rearend does the 78-83 Malibu have?
The factory rearend in all Malibu’s is a 10 bolt with a 7.5″ ring gear. This is the weakest rearend GM has produced, to my knowledge. They have 26 spline axles and small spider gears that are prone to breakage if moderate amounts of power are applied to them. Most come with very tall “highway” type gears for good fuel economy. Most came in the 2.41-2.73 range. To see a list of what was available, go to the Rear Axle Code Page to see a breakdown of available gear ratios, Posi ID, etc. for the stock 7.5″ rearend and also the more desirable 8.5″ rearend that came in the Buick GN turbo Regal and the Olds 442.
