Gonna rebuild my rear end.

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donsrods

Well-known member
Joined
May 11, 2007
Messages
10,476
Location
fort myers florida
When I got the 8 inch Ford rear that I am using under my rpu project I knew it would need resealed, gear oil was running out of the front seal behind the yoke. I thought beyond that problem there would be nothing to do but clean it up and paint it. But when I removed it there were several chipped teeth, so now I realize it needs a new gear set too.

I have never rebuilt a rear end center section, I usually just buy a rebuilt one from one of the companies who do that and put it in. But I want to save some money on this one, plus I want to learn how to do it myself.....it can't be rocket surgery ! :D

There are some pretty good YouTube videos on how to do a 9 incher and the 8 isn't all that much different, so I will be using those videos to guide me through it (plus any advice I can get from some of you on here, as I go along)

My plan is to disassemble the whole thing down to the bare center section housing, clean all the grease and grime off in a solvent bath, and then sand blast the front of the housing so I can paint it when done. I am going to call Summit tomorrow and order a 3.55 gear set, plus a rebuild kit that has all the bearings, seals, etc to do the job.

I will take lots of pictures along the way and post them, in case there might be something in it for someone else. It will also let the guys who know how to do this see if I am screwing up anywhere along the line. I have a dial indicator to set the preload and backlash, but will have to make some sort of jig to hold the whole thing steady while I load parts into the housing.

Worst that can happen is that I have a whining rear end that leaks like mad, and that is what I got when I purchased the last 9 inch posi from a "reputable" guy who does this all the time. :rolleyes: Wish me luck. :D

Don
 
This will be interesting to me. I wish you were dealing with a Dana. I'm getting mentally prepared to go thru the same thing you did on mine. No real problems but I see a little runout on the DS axle. I'm expecting other things...
 
I bet if you go on YouTube there will be lots of videos on how to rebuild that Dana. Last night I watched the two videos I saved on how to do my 8 inch Ford rear and the guy really goes into great detail.

I just ordered my gears, the installation kit, and a gauge set to measure the pinion depth. Last night I dug out the Starret dial indicator set I have had stored for years and found that the face of the gauge is peeling paint. It is chipping so bad it keeps the needle from going back to zero. :( So I just ordered a new one with this order.

I debated back and forth with myself about going with 3.55 gears or 3.80 gears and settled on the 3.55 set. The one thing I dislike about my 27 is the deep 4.30 gears and I want this car to be sort of my longer distance driver, so highway gears will be much more pleasant. But I was tempted to get the 3.80's just because I am old fashioned.

Should have the gears and parts by Monday or so. Now I can start cleaning and disassembling the old rear end center section to get ready.

Don

I went to the shop tonight and started soaking the center section in a bucket of kerosene to get 49 years of grime off before I start tearing it apart. The thing was Nasty ! Kind of a dumb picture, but it's all I got.

 
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Yeah Don, I've found all kinds of info online on the Dana. You just seem to go in depth real well on your posts and would be easy to follow. I ain't skeered!!! heheh! I think your choice on gears will be ok. Mine has a posi 3.07. It should roll out ok but I'm sure it wouldn't be real inpressive on a launch...I'm hoping to be wrong on that...

[P
 
I think you will like those 3.07 gears more than you think. My Son has 2.79's in his T bucket with a sbf engine, and it pulls like mad. When I am following him and we leave a light I have to push mine to hang with him, and I am running 4.30's. I would have stayed with the 3.00 gears this rear had if they hadn't been chipped.

Today the first part of my Summit order showed up, I got the pinion setting tool.



The rest of the order, the gear set and the installation kit, are coming from Ohio and should be here by Tuesday, I think. In the meantime I am still soaking the center section to get some of the gunk off of it. So maybe next week I can start disassembling it. Until I get the center section done I can't get this thing up on wheels, and that is my goal for right now.

Don
 
I've done a few 9" and they are not difficult at all.
You won't have any trouble with whining since it's a new gear set.
My 40 has 2.54 gears and I love them especially with the 3.06 low gear ratio of the 700r4.
 
I've done a few 9" and they are not difficult at all.
You won't have any trouble with whining since it's a new gear set.
My 40 has 2.54 gears and I love them especially with the 3.06 low gear ratio of the 700r4.

2.54 with a 700, what kind of RPM you turning at 70 mph in OD?
 
My 23 was that way, I had 3.00 gears with a 30 inch rear tire and it was just off idle going down the freeway. I actually got 30 mpg one time coming home from Billetproof, and regularly got 25 mpg. :D

I've started watching the 4 Youtube videos I saved to rebuild my rear end, and they really are well done. Here they are in case anyone would like to watch them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w4VL1zmTEQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhOQAJCZUTg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBih0TVtEto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlotNoeJgEY

The guy explains it so well I think I can do it. I pulled my center section out of the kerosene tonight and it really cleaned up well, so I can start pulling it apart on my day off Thursday (if I don't have jury duty ! :mad::mad:

Don
 
Well, I've decided to leave the differential rebuild to someone who knows what they are doing ! :eek::eek: I took it all apart and cleaned and blasted everything so it could be built, but then I realized I needed some very specialized tools that I will never use again for years, it will be cheaper (and better) to have it done for me.

I took it to the repair shop a few doors down from me, Mark is a really good mechanic and has the tools and know how to do it right. I realize that I am more of a car builder than mechanic, so things like dial indicators and depth micrometers are foreign to me. He has built a lot of these , even for drag racers, so I know it will be set up right.

I gave him all the new parts from Summit and Currie to do the job and will fit it into his regular work schedule. This is the one thing holding me back from getting the car up on wheels which makes it even smarter to spend a few bucks and move on.

A man has to know his own limitations ! :eek::D

Don
 
Don, I have (or had) an old Motors truck manual from the 70s that showed several different swipe patterns and how to adjust for each one. I almost always dragged that reference out when I was setting up a rear end. If your set up lit didn't come with the white paste get some. Or I've also used prussian blue. One thing I strongly dislike on the Fords is the crush collar and I advise to get rid of it and get the shimming kit.
For anyone wanting to set up a Dana, I strongly advise getting a set of sacrificial carrier bearings. Take just enough out of the inside so they slide on and off by hand. They are normally pressed on and it's hard not to wreck the shims when you pull them. Also if you need to remove them several times to get set right, you need a lot of shims and bearing damage is likely if you don't have a proper puller.
Don, I went from a 3.70 to a 3.50 and I still can idle away from stops in second if I want. Depends on what you like, I'm pretty happy with either. It's a 5 speed and cruises fine and I'm more about snap than economy in the rpu. After all, it is a hot rod.
 
i dont know ANYTHING but i have rebuilt 2 rear ends and it wasnt very hard at all.
but i did check,recheck and check again every step of the way.
because of my inexperience i dont trust myself.
 
Mark called me today, the rear end is done. He also found the yoke had a worn spot on it (he asked me if the rear had leaked from that spot and it had dripped pretty good when stored in my shop) so he put a seal saver over it.

I guess I could have rebuilt it myself, but with the few days off I get from work it was much easier to let him do it. $ 200 for labor and it is done right and now I can get this thing up onto wheels. The older I get the more I like dropping stuff off and picking them up when they are done.........I did enough of laying under cars and screwing up stuff when I was younger to last me the rest of my life. :D

So, this weekend I can get the center section installed and drop it down on the ground, hopefully.

Don
 
Got my rear end back. (I've been working out ! :D) It looks great and he did things I would have missed, like he cleaned a lot of trash out of the spider gears. I wouldn't have thought to take that part apart to check.

I also dropped off the two axles to have bearings put on them, this way I can take my afternoon nap and not get my hands dirty ! Gawd, I am turning into a 1-800 hot rodder ! :eek::eek:

Don
 
BTW, if anyone needs those 10 little copper washers that go around the studs that hold the center section into the 8 or 9 inch housing, Summit carries them. They are hard to find, I called local NAPA and Ford dealership and came up empty, but the Summit part number is EAR-177101-ERL and they cost just over $10 including shipping. The washers keep the rear end from leaking out of those studs.

Mine should be here next week so I can then get my rear end assembled completely and down on wheels . Yaaaaay ! :D

Don
 
Here's a referral for those who need things.

C&M Gear Works
1450 E Trafficway St
Springfield, MO 65802
(417) 862-4455
Chris or Dave

These guys are a wealth of knowledge and great for any thing like this.
I'm sure they would be very happy to ship new and used parts anywhere.
 

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