Attn: Rear End Experts (on cars that is)...

[squall9393]

OK time to start looking at gears. Going with 3.73s for my manual Stang. Read the threads already and seen what others recommended to buy and browsed over this article and to tell you the truth I'm seriously about to pass out thinking about the shear mechanics.

Don't get me wrong I'm not a freakin idiot with mechanics but I'm more a technical than a mechanical person. So to the questions are then-

1) Who to buy the gears from and what do they already come with?

2) What gaskets and bearings do I need in addition and yes I want to replace it all while I'm down there.

3) What's this going do to my Speedometer? Do I need to have it recalibrated for the new gears or to they have something that does the conversion for the speedo already?

4) What's my next project? Do I need to in turn stiffen up the supsension for the havock these gears will reak on my Stang?

I don't foresee doing this myself unless there's an expert holding my hand while I do this so please don't tell me how I should do this and that cuz I'll prolly fry a brain cell wondering what your talking about. Obviously I will be reading up more but I'm far from knowledgable on this part of car so i trust you guys to steer me right. Thanks in advance.

JJ

 

[AznStanger3v]

OK time to start looking at gears. Going with 3.73s for my manual Stang. Read the threads already and seen what others recommended to buy and browsed over this article and to tell you the truth I'm seriously about to pass out thinking about the shear mechanics.

Don't get me wrong I'm not a freakin idiot with mechanics but I'm more a technical than a mechanical person. So to the questions are then-

1) Who to buy the gears from and what do they already come with?

2) What gaskets and bearings do I need in addition and yes I want to replace it all while I'm down there.

3) What's this going do to my Speedometer? Do I need to have it recalibrated for the new gears or to they have something that does the conversion for the speedo already?

4) What's my next project? Do I need to in turn stiffen up the supsension for the havock these gears will reak on my Stang?

I don't foresee doing this myself unless there's an expert holding my hand while I do this so please don't tell me how I should do this and that cuz I'll prolly fry a brain cell wondering what your talking about. Obviously I will be reading up more but I'm far from knowledgable on this part of car so i trust you guys to steer me right. Thanks in advance.

JJ

1. GEFRacing.com. Comes with crush sleeve and ****, i forgot.

2. Go on ebay for a rear end overhaul kit. it eliminates all chance of missing a part.

3. Get a 23 tooth speedometer gear that goes into a transitor in the tailend, driver's side trans. 10 minutes to change with a jack and 11mm open end wrench. $20 at most from any ford dealership. got mine from steeda.

4. next project is an HCI.

hope this helps

 

[squall9393]

There's Allen again to save the day for me. BTW thanks again for swinging into action on the fan request. Yeah definitely need to do a H/C/I swap but I'm gonna do the 351W stroker thing out in Cali so I don't wanna invest any money in the 302 if I don't have to. Mod madness till then

 

[mystang94gt]

I dont think the 23 tooth speedo gear will correct the speedo entirely. It didnt for me and my 3.73's at least. It's close but not exact. You can buy the gears and the install kit from various diff places. But from what I've heard you shouldnt pay more than $200 labor to get them installed. Apparently I paid too much so shop around.

 

[RacerRick]

By all means let a pro do the install, it has to be right or you'll have problems(gear whine on accel or coast,and/or gears will eat themselves up if pinion depth is off).

you'll need 1. ring and pinion set
2. master bearing kit
3. traction lock clutch kit or replacment locker diff.
4. axle brgs and seals
5. gear oil
6. friction modifier(additive so the clutches dont chatter)

If you have the $$$'s ,nows the time to upgrade to 31 spline diff and axles.
www.50resto.com has it all at good prices! their master bearing kit even comes with ring gear bolts, pinion nut, shims, loctite, marking compound, crush sleeve, pinion seal , and a cover gasket for $84.95!
hope this helps GOOD LUCK!

 

[squall9393]

I new I could count on you guys. Thanks for the input. Anyone else wanna make a point known?

 

[Joes95GT]

As said before, let a pro do the installation. It's worth every bit of the money, especially if they stand behind their work.

You by no means have to replace your differential or the clutches in your differential if everything is in working order. I'd go to Summit for one of their rear-end rebuild kits. They will come with all the parts needed for an 8.8 rear.

RacerRick mentioned that a kit comes with all that good stuff, which would be extremely helpful, however, you don't need a cover gasket. I know he didn't say you needed one, I just want to clarify.

The 23 tooth speedometer gear will get you "semi-close" but not anywhere near "dead on". For the speedometer to be exact, you will either need a combination of a 18-tooth and 6-tooth, or 21-tooth and 7-tooth drive and driven gears. The gear goes into the drivers side of the trans as Allen explained, and the other goes into the tailshaft of the trans. More than likely, the trans will have to come out of the car do it this. You also have another option of the Dallas Mustang Speedcal, which is more expensive.

Joe

 

[RacerRick]

the reason i recommend replacing the clutches is that they are just adequate at best, for under $50.00 its cheap insurance rather than going back in when you start pulling only 1 wheel in a few months! been there ..done that!

 

[JJ95GTID]

Definately get the FRPP gears. Then a complete bearing kit as mentioned above. You don't have to rebuild the T-loc until you start seeing peg-leg burnouts. You do need the traction modifyer for the clutch pak in the t-loc that you just add to the gear oil. Usually $8 a bottle. You only need one.

As far as installation goes it all depends on your level of comfort I guess. I did mine and they work great.
Here is how the story goes:
I did have to have the pinion shaft bearing removed by a friend with a hydraulic press. I used all the original shims and bearings/races in their original locations with the new gears. This was the advice of a trusted mechanic who specializes in Mustang repair and modification. He owns 2 Fox Mustangs, a 2000 Saleen Mustang, 2-60's Mustangs, a Lightening F150, and a Harley Davidson edition F150. So, I trust this guy. I only installed a new pinion gear just because I bought the gearset on ebay and it came with it. All my bearings were in great shape. No signs of scoring on the bearing races or the needle bearings themselves. Car had 75k miles on it. I didn't even have to replace my bearing seals. I was just careful not to drag out the axle shafts when I removed them. Now this is the part I would not recommend but I did anyways. I had to reuse the original crush collar (sleeve). I did this because I could not crush the new one with the tools I had in my garage at the time and I didn't want the hassle of moving my car out of my garage in pieces. I asked my Mustang guru friend and he said that as long as the original was not completely collapsed and I could get the drag on the pinion gear to spec then it would not be a problem to reuse it. 10,000+ miles later and 5 trips to the strip and no problems or noise yet. I used a 23 tooth gear that also came with the ebay deal and it is off a little to the slow side. So, 75 mph is really closer to 72mph. Not really a big concern unless it really bothers you to be putting more miles on the odometer than you are actually driving. The only other way to correct it is as mentioned above with the SpeedCal electronic device or the replacement of the internal gear (inside the tailshaft of the T-5) and the outer gear attached to the VSS.

If you choose not to DIY then don't pay more than $200 for the labor. And, if you have any noise or other problems then take it back immediately and have them fix THEIR work!!! Don't get screwed like other people have.

Good luck

 

[mo_dingo]

I had absolutely no problem tightening the pinion nut with a new crush collar. All you need is leverage. See link below.

Secondly, I am of the opinion that shops don't give a rats ass about your car. They are there to collect a paycheck. Any extra time spent correcting a "small problem" is unlikely to be spent.

If you want to trust your rear-end to someone else, be my guest.

But, if you decide to learn how a rear-end works, and how EASY it is to install gears on a 8.8" rear end, follow this link.

LINK

The three links at the bottom are installation guides. The one hosted on angelfire has great pictures. You can see what each bearing looks like out of the differential.

With access to a lift, it only took me 3 & 1/2 hours. I had never touched a rear end before in my life. Without access to a lift, you need to add about 3-6 hours on top.

Obviously I have a little bias )) against paying someone to do work on my car. I have the will & patience to learn. Do you?
Scott

 

[JJ95GTID]

"With access to a lift, it only took me 3 & 1/2 hours. I had never touched a rear end before in my life. Without access to a lift, you need to add about 3-6 hours on top." mo_dingo


A lift. Now that would have been nice I did mine in my garage with the car on jackstands
I tried to tighten the pinion and new crush collar with a 3' breaker bar with my 240lbs and 2' of clearance under the car and no go. Wish I had a impact wrench with some serious power to crush that PITA thing.
Yes, the experience is definately worth it if you got the time and spare vehicle just in case you can't get the job done.

 

[squall9393]

Thanks everyone. Nice write up there in that thread you posted mo_dingo.

 

[mo_dingo]

A lift. Now that would have been nice I did mine in my garage with the car on jackstands
I tried to tighten the pinion and new crush collar with a 3' breaker bar with my 240lbs and 2' of clearance under the car and no go. Wish I had a impact wrench with some serious power to crush that PITA thing.
Yes, the experience is definately worth it if you got the time and spare vehicle just in case you can't get the job done.

Time for my comeback.

The impact wrench wouldn't tighten the pinion nut enough. And I had the biggest impact they had!!!! Not joking either.

Like I said in my write-up, I used a 1 1/2 foot prybar, and a 1 1/2 foot breaker bar to tighten the pinion nut to spec. I installed 2 of the driveshaft bolts part way. Then I put the pry bar inbetween the two bolts, and tightened the bolts so they held the prybar in place. Then, I turned the prybar so it pointed straight down, then I put the ratchet on and had it pointing straight down. Then, with my left hand, I pushed the prybar, and with my right hand, I pulled the ratchet. I turned the nut probably only 1/16 of a turn, then I put the prybar & ratchet back at the bottom, and repeated the process.

Air tools. WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' AIR TOOLS!!!

No big deal.
Scott

 

[JJ95GTID]

It's all good