Rembrant's new non-Bullnose project

[Rembrant]

That looks good, Cory. I've never done that, so am in awe of those who have.

Oh it's not so bad once you get into it. I've spent a lot of time working with cup/cone style bearings in with my work, so that part was straight forward for me. We'll see how it does when it's finally on the road haha, that will be the real test!

[grumpin]

That looks good, Cory. I've never done that, so am in awe of those who have.

Oh it's not so bad once you get into it. I've spent a lot of time working with cup/cone style bearings in with my work, so that part was straight forward for me. We'll see how it does when it's finally on the road haha, that will be the real test!

Good job Cory! I’m with Gary, haven’t done that, looks like fun!

[Nothing Special]

Good job Cory! I’m with Gary, haven’t done that, looks like fun!

I did it once before, will be starting into it again, hopefully tonight. "Fun" isn't a word I'd use to describe it! But it isn't rocket science. You need a couple of specialized tools, but nothing that wild. And then you need a LOT of patience!

[ArdWrknTrk]

That looks good, Cory. I've never done that, so am in awe of those who have.

Oh it's not so bad once you get into it. I've spent a lot of time working with cup/cone style bearings in with my work, so that part was straight forward for me. We'll see how it does when it's finally on the road haha, that will be the real test!

If you have a good pattern and excellent backlash, as you say, it should be smooth sailing.

Congratulations Cory!

If setting up new gears be sure to break them in much like you would an engine.

Varying load and giving the diff time to cool off.

Anyone who has a 9" in their truck really has it easy because you can do it on the bench.

[Rembrant]

If you have a good pattern and excellent backlash, as you say, it should be smooth sailing.

Congratulations Cory!

If setting up new gears be sure to break them in much like you would an engine.

Varying load and giving the diff time to cool off.

Anyone who has a 9" in their truck really has it easy because you can do it on the bench.

Hey Jim,

I re-used the old gears, and they actually looked to be in really nice condition. The spider gears show a little wear, but the ring and pinion almost looked like they were just unwrapped. I bought this rearend from a Junkyard and had it shipped out east. It was the specific one I needed with the gears I wanted, and it was listed as being a low mileage unit with under 100k on it. I had intended to just throw it under the truck as it arrived. After moving it around a few times, I noticed the pinion was sticky and notchy to turn by hand. It wasn't loose, but it wasn't smooth either.

When I pulled the diff cover I found out why. It was full of rust and dirt. Where it came from and how it got so dirty I have no idea.

Here's a picture of the inside of the pinion seal as pulled, and the inside of the housing showing all the dirt/rust.

Most of it wiped away. The axle tubes were actually pretty clean, with just a small patch of rust closer to the wheel end of one tube. The axle vent was plugged solid, but the tube had only a little 1/16" orifice inside it which I found odd.

Anyway, I don't know if the vehicle had been in a flood of dirty water or otherwise submerged, or something else. I've opened up some pretty old diffs before and never found dirt and debris like what was in this one, and this one is only a 2001 so it's not that old, but it was in a junkyard and maybe it has been laying outside for 20 years, who knows.

Once I got everything cleaned up, I decided to reassemble it with all of the same shims in the same locations, and that worked out pretty well I must say. The pattern in the paint was not 100% perfect, but then again the gears were not new either. In any case, the pattern was still very good.

According to the Ford manual, backlash can be between 0.008" and 0.015" (with 0.012" to 0.015" preferred), and all reassembled it measured at about 0.0135", so I thought it wasn't worth messing with. Pinion bearing preload for new bearings was between 16-29 in/lbs, and I got it set to 25. I was worried that if I tried to push the power bar one more time that I'd go over 29, so I left that alone too. That crush sleeve takes a lot of force, so I wasn't going to be too precise with it haha.

Anyway, it all worked for now. Ask me again when I finally get the truck on the road!

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

If you have a good pattern and excellent backlash, as you say, it should be smooth sailing.

Congratulations Cory!

If setting up new gears be sure to break them in much like you would an engine.

Varying load and giving the diff time to cool off.

Anyone who has a 9" in their truck really has it easy because you can do it on the bench.

Hey Jim,

I re-used the old gears, and they actually looked to be in really nice condition. The spider gears show a little wear, but the ring and pinion almost looked like they were just unwrapped. I bought this rearend from a Junkyard and had it shipped out east. It was the specific one I needed with the gears I wanted, and it was listed as being a low mileage unit with under 100k on it. I had intended to just throw it under the truck as it arrived. After moving it around a few times, I noticed the pinion was sticky and notchy to turn by hand. It wasn't loose, but it wasn't smooth either.

When I pulled the diff cover I found out why. It was full of rust and dirt. Where it came from and how it got so dirty I have no idea.

Here's a picture of the inside of the pinion seal as pulled, and the inside of the housing showing all the dirt/rust.

Most of it wiped away. The axle tubes were actually pretty clean, with just a small patch of rust closer to the wheel end of one tube. The axle vent was plugged solid, but the tube had only a little 1/16" orifice inside it which I found odd.

Anyway, I don't know if the vehicle had been in a flood of dirty water or otherwise submerged, or something else. I've opened up some pretty old diffs before and never found dirt and debris like what was in this one, and this one is only a 2001 so it's not that old, but it was in a junkyard and maybe it has been laying outside for 20 years, who knows.

Once I got everything cleaned up, I decided to reassemble it with all of the same shims in the same locations, and that worked out pretty well I must say. The pattern in the paint was not 100% perfect, but then again the gears were not new either. In any case, the pattern was still very good.

According to the Ford manual, backlash can be between 0.008" and 0.015" (with 0.012" to 0.015" preferred), and all reassembled it measured at about 0.0135", so I thought it wasn't worth messing with. Pinion bearing preload for new bearings was between 16-29 in/lbs, and I got it set to 25. I was worried that if I tried to push the power bar one more time that I'd go over 29, so I left that alone too. That crush sleeve takes a lot of force, so I wasn't going to be too precise with it haha.

Anyway, it all worked for now. Ask me again when I finally get the truck on the road!

I read where you said you re-used the old gears, so you are fine there!

Yeah, that diff was buried in a mud hole (either in the truck, or in the junkyard)

I was just pointing out to anyone that might be regearing (or like me, blew up their carrier, requiring new gears and a full setup that they ought to give them a chance to "court & marry" before....

[Rembrant]

I did it once before, will be starting into it again, hopefully tonight. "Fun" isn't a word I'd use to describe it! But it isn't rocket science. You need a couple of specialized tools, but nothing that wild. And then you need a LOT of patience!

Ya, exactly. Only tool I actually had to buy to do this job was the inch pounds arm style torque wrench for checking the pinion bearing preload. I have a couple inch pound wrenches already, but they're the click style. I have hydraulic presses and bearing puller kits at work, so that's were I did the work on the carrier and pinion shaft.

I know you probably don't need any advice lol, but my pro tip(s) would be to always grease the bearing races and the holes you're pressing them into and they'll go in (and on) much better. I also put a very thin coating of gasket maker on the outside (metal part) of the pinion seal and axle seals. They probably don't need it, but I do it anyway, and it makes them a little easier to install. The grease makes bearings go in so much easier than doing them dry.

Other than that, lots of patience as you said haha. Keep all the old bearing races for pressing in the new bearing races;).

[Rembrant]

I read where you said you re-used the old gears, so you are fine there!

Yeah, that diff was buried in a mud hole (either in the truck, or in the junkyard)

I was just pointing out to anyone that might be regearing (or like me, blew up their carrier, requiring new gears and a full setup that they ought to give them a chance to "court & marry" before....

Oh yes, 100% on the break in, I agree. Maybe I'll do a new gear set someday, but as it was this job was pretty easy the way I did it.

By the way, I did do this one on the bench...the whole axle is up there now. Problem is, since I brought each part to the bench individually, the whole thing is now too heavy for me to lift off by myself haha. This is how I roll.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I read where you said you re-used the old gears, so you are fine there!

Yeah, that diff was buried in a mud hole (either in the truck, or in the junkyard)

I was just pointing out to anyone that might be regearing (or like me, blew up their carrier, requiring new gears and a full setup that they ought to give them a chance to "court & marry" before....

Oh yes, 100% on the break in, I agree. Maybe I'll do a new gear set someday, but as it was this job was pretty easy the way I did it.

By the way, I did do this one on the bench...the whole axle is up there now. Problem is, since I brought each part to the bench individually, the whole thing is now too heavy for me to lift off by myself haha. This is how I roll.

I did say "easily"..

Paul Campbell (drag racer I knew) even had a lapping fixture for 9" rears.

Sometimes he'd plug it in as he left the shop for the night.

[mat in tn]

I did say "easily"..

Paul Campbell (drag racer I knew) even had a lapping fixture for 9" rears.

Sometimes he'd plug it in as he left the shop for the night.

I too build rear axles on a bench or stand and when ready I lift them off with the engine hoist if lou ferigno is not around. then I bolt a pr of wheels to it then roll it under the frame and align the pinion with a floor jack. I work slow but as methodically as possible.