Hello all, Has anyone changed thier own gears? It looks complicated but so did an engine change (not so bad) . The gauge and guts are available from summit. Should a novice attempt? Thanks for any info.
Is not that bad to do if you have a dial indicator and pair of dial calipers or depth gage. Helps to have a big vise to hold the housing after it has been cleaned up. Don't want to start an argument over the procedure, but I "rarely" use a new crush sleeve and "rarely" add or subtract pinion support shims. Usually comes out very close using the existing one's unless they are damaged etc. It takes a bit of doing to crush that new one and can be a safety problem while doing it, if you are not familiar with the procedure. Do a search for 9in Ford ring and pinion set-up and there are lot's of sights showing how it is done on both 9in and 8in carriers.(Almost identical) Give it a try and you will get lot's of help here and save a ton of money too. It is your decision which way is best for you, by coincidence, I just finished up doing one for a friend of mine changing from 4.86 to 4.11. Good luck with it.
Did it, with basic garage tools and dial indicator. It helps if you have access to a press, I used large sockets and leftover bearing races and a large hammer. Other than that, you need 180 ft/lbs torque on the pinion nut, which is difficult for most of us. I mounted it back on the car, e-brake on, put on a 36" breaker bar, and used my own 190 lbs of body weight to get it close. This was my first time. My dad dropped by when I was done to look at the wear pattern. He had done them before and said it looked good. Have about 3000 miles on it, mostly hard driving, and a few runs on the track, and no problems. I also put a mini spool in while I was in there...
I have a 72 year old mechanic friend that says basicly the same thing as Dave. Only difference is that he uses grease and a brown paper bag to set the wear pattern of the gears. He started out working on T models years ago, has done numerous semi trucks like that, never had any problems. Some people will call that shadetree stuff, but his eyes can spot a proper alignment easily with the grease and brown bag. Never tried it myself, but he has shown me what to look for when doing it that way....
I had an Old Guy teach me how to set up rear gears on my Toyota truck and he said the once the pinoin depth is set from the factory you don't need to reset it. Use the old shims either between the bearing and pinoin gear or Pinoin hub and housing. He put it like this, a 9" ring gear will always be 9" so the depth will not change. The thickness of the ring and pinion change so you need to check backlash. So far I have had no problems setting up gears 8", 9" 8.8 and dana 44s
What do you do with the brown paper bag? I assume he used the grease just to see the squish pattern on the teeth...
This is true 95% of the time. I don't have a pinion depth gauge. Most people do not and the cost is prohibitive even to me as a mechanic. The good ones go for 700.00 to 800.00 Setting the lash is easy and I did splurge on a Good Snap on Run out gauge. It can check ball joints etc..... as well. In fact on the 8.8 Gears there is a factoy stamp that tells you the Pinion depth if more or less than standard. It has been a while since I have seen a set of Factory replacement gears though. Most guys buy after market. The white paint is the best way to see the pattern. IMO For standard duty stuff I use crush sleeves and buy 3 of them and just use an impact to set the crush. i buy the extras just in case I goof up. For race stiff I use shims only.
im gonna get a track lock and either 3.80 or 4.11 gears and want to do it myself, and i am a little hesitant as well. if i had someone near me that has done it before, i would use them as a crutch for my first time
I prefer to use solid a sleeve rather than a crush sleeve. To check the contact pattern I use white oil paint from the art store, comes in a tube like toothpaste.
You put the grease on the ring gear and then put the bag between it and the pinion and slowly turn the gearset. The pattern then is impressed onto the bag, showing you the mesh of the gears. Some people just use the grease or white lead and leave out the bag.
gear changing Not really that hard. Easier then working on some engine stuff. I use an Inch lb torque wrench to measure preload of the bearing. Dail indicator and a BMF vise. Crush sleeve, old worked coming out and works going back in. Just check preload and tooth pattern. Besides I look at the crush sleeve like this , it'll probably relax out some when you pull it out so you're putting it right back where it was. That or Currie sells a solid one with shims that works well also. Locktite the bolts on the adjuster ring locks. Use a magnetic drain plug, should be a factory item anyway.
VERY good point. One thing I always hated about the ford differential...GREAT rear, but no drain I drilled and tapped a drain hole in the bottom, and used a 3/8" pipe threaded allen screw, so when it is plugged, the top of the plug/screw is flush with the bottom of the diff, so it doesn't get hit or in the way if I use the diff for a jacking point. Couldn't find a magnetic one at the time.
Well, I chicken'd out and farmed out the gear change. I went with 3:55's with powertrax no slip. Now I'm poor. Thanks everyone for the help and info.
