Rear end Question

[1986LX2002]

I need to rebuild my clutch pack in my diff. My question can i pull the diff out of the housing and rebuild it and not have to worry about setting up the gears again? Correct me if i'm wrong but since i'm not pulling the pinion gear or anything I should just be able to pull the diff unit rebuild it and put it back in with no problem right?

 

[illwood]

I think you should be allright as long as you keep the spacers on the side that they came from. It might be some extra insurance to keep the ring gear on the carrier, plus it's a PITA to remove and requires a hydraulic press.

If you have the tools, it wouldn't hurt to check the backlash on the gears before you put the cover back on, but it may not be necessary. Besides, if the gears start to get noisy, just think how much quicker you'll be at getting in there the 2nd time around with all that practice.

 

[HardmanGT]

You won't need to worry about set up as long as you keep the carrier shims in the same position as when they came out. Upgarde the clutches while you are in there

 

[1986LX2002]

Yeah I'm not going to be pulling the ring gear off so no big deal. Just wanted to be sure because in "my mind" it would work but I was talking to an older timer at a car show and said i had to basically reset the pinion gear and everything else. Just wanted to be kinda sure. What type of clutches should i use btw?

 

[axeman]

definatly put the shims and bearing caps back where you got them from. keep them marked, don't get them mixed up. the caps are side specific and the shims were what each side needed for correct adjustment. also, don't forget that the caps have arrows on them that need to face out.

you won't have to worry about setting anything up. you're not messing with anything but rebuilding the T Lock. i've never heard of upgrading the clutches, but there are two different ways of packing them that i know of.

 

[1986LX2002]

Cool thanks guys for setting the story straight

 

[HISSIN50]

an extra clutch on each side and upgraded spring are a couple things people like to use.

 

[OL' WHITEY]

You don't have to take off the bearing caps or mess with the carrier shims at all!! There is no part of the trac-loc rebuild that affects the ring and pinion setup whatsoever. Leave it alone!! Do yourself a favor and do a search on "trac-loc rebuild" The top post should be from 90mustangGT with a last reply from me, OL' WHITEY. In that thread are specific instructions and links on how to do this. I had excellent luck with my rebuild, as did 90mustangGT. We added extra clutches to make the units lock up tighter. It takes a little time to do, but it is worth it. No more one wheel peel! Good luck

 

[1986LX2002]

Thanks for the info, some good stuff to look fwd too.

 

[axeman]

a spring from an F150 is a good idea.

also, you want to shim the clutch packs as tight as you can, enough that you can just barely get them spider gears back in. if you ask me, it's alot easier to do if you have the differential out of the car, and it only takes an extra 10 minutes to get it out. just my opinion.

 

[OL' WHITEY]

When I redid mine, I used extra clutches and shimmed mine tight as a banjo string. I tried several shim combinations before I settled on one that was astight as I could possibly get and still be able to get the spiders back in. I found that by using the extra clutches, I was not able to fit the F150 spring in there, despite having bought one to try. It was all I could do to get the original spring back in! Man was it tight!! The project was a lot of work, but worth it.