Rear End Bearings - At home job for inexperienced?

[Wes8398]

I've had a small noise bothering me since i've had my car (for a month or so now) which I finally had diagnosed by a mechanic today. He took the car for a spin and said he's sure it's one of the bearings in the rear end, but he wont know exactly what one till he's got it all apart. He said it could be up to like $300 in labour (I get the parts from NAPA for cheap, so I said I'd supply those) which is waaaay more then I can afford right now.
He suggested to purchase a "bearing kit" which has 4 bearings included in it (he said about $100), plus buy the 2 axel bearings (wasn't sure of a price) and all the seals (again not sure of the price, but said it would be minimal). He said he'd only replace what needed to be done, so I could return what wasn't used, but suggested just to do all the bearings while he was in there.

Anyway, I'm just wondering how advanced this job is to do on my own ... I don't have any specialty tools or anything, but I could always find one if one's needed. I want to save myself the money and do the job myself, but not if it's going to be a big deal and way over my head. I'm gonna have a look through my Haynze tonight and get an idea of what's all involved, but I wanted some opinions from you folks if you could.

 

[03ghoststang]

if its the carrier bearings a bearing puller and press will be needed, if its the pinion bearing then you will have to gut the rear end to remove the pinion.

But to keep this short if have no clue or any doubt on what to do just have it be done by a mechanic.

here is a link to a gear install to give you a clue as to what your getting into

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=631757

 

[TripleBlk]

I pulled the axle bearings on my '99, and had the tool, but the bearings were stubborn, and I had to use heat. You'll have to pull the axles, drain the diff housing, etc.

So my answer to your question would be : NO. But, make sure you ask the mechanic how many Ford 8.8s he's worked on, etc. Based on his answer, you might want a "second opinion".

I had some noise coming from the axle/diff/bearing area - kind of a rumbling - might have been that in a previous axle fluid change, someone neglected to put in the Motorcraft friction modifier (even though I gave it to the lube techs). Has your diff fluid been changed ?

 

[hognutz]

first off if one bearing is failing why not do them all why you in there. if you do all of the bearings it is pretty easy.

if you get a long chunk of 1.5 in pipe you just run it through the housing and drive the axle bearings and seals out. takes about 10sec per side. it is redneck but it is faster than any puller you will find.

the pinion races drive out fairly easy with punches. the carrier bearing need to be pulled off along with the main pinino bearing. you could always pay a shop to do that part for you though.

one problem is though after all this is done you still will have to verify the setup is still correct and you will have to reset you pinion rotating force and things like that. so if you don't under stand rear end setup you may want to pay the 300. if you understand rear end setup just buy the master rebuild kit and do the job yourself.

master install kit is about $120 or so. If you ever wanted to do gears now is the time as well. you have to do all the work so the only added cost is just parts.