Agreed BUT if he does it on the ground and there is tension (forward or rearward pressure) there will be no semblance of play in the shaft as it will have inertia force.
1970 Differential or not Thks again guys. I will get under my car and feel the U joints on the shafts. I will report back. I will order some new ones regardless. Plenty available on ebay. Thks bunches. Patrick
1970 Ford CS differential Hello guys. I took the car back in. We opened the diff case an it is indeed the differential. Teeth worn out and bearings pretty shabby tooo. U joints are fine. I guess I now have to bite the bullet and buy a new third member. Patrick
1970 CS differential Hi Guys. Is it complicated to replace the ring and pinion ? I mean will it be a lot of labour costs at the shop or is it pretty straightforward ? I will have to go to a different shop as I think the mechanic I go to now is a bit lazy. I do not trust his skills. I am not mechanically inclined at all so I am kind of lost :banghead3:. Patrick
Pretty straight forward job Patrick, depending on the rear end the driveline yoke is removed at the pinion housing, then the pinion housing itself is unbolted from the axle housing. The ring and pinion is then removed but normally requires the lock pin to be driven or pressed out. It's best to have an experienced shop or diff/axle shop do this simply because a press and sometimes shims are involved to make sure the gears are meshing correctly. I would say labor time would be about 2 to 3 hours, just a guess however, don't hold me to that.
The added bonus is that you will be able to choose whatever ratio you want when replacing the ring and pinion. A press is definitely required to press the bearings on and off. All clearances are set using shims. Generally, you should keep the shims in the same location when disassembling the unit, and re-use them. If you mix them up, then you will have to start setting your clearances from scratch, which is a PITA. Whoever does the job should have a manual with the specifications required.
Close if everything goes together the first time. What's the pain is when you have to add or remove shims to get the clearances right, which entails removing and re-pressing the bearings without F'ing them up.
Exactly! I helped a buddy with his Dana 44 on his Jeep and that's exactly what he had to do...geez what a pain. The next one I did I just pulled it and took it into our local drivetrain specialty shop...it was well worth the extra $100.00 in labor.
Dewey, Does your NAPA store have a machine shop in the back? Back before the chain auto parts stores came about, every parts store had a machine shop. I haven't been able to locate one within 50 miles since I moved down here. Everybody just buys rebuilt heads, engines, etc instead of doing it themselves. And nobody knows how to read a friggin' paper catalog anymore. If it's not in the computer, they don't know jack about it.
We had a machine shop in back but Napa in their infinite wisdom decided that liabilty was too high. We are down to two brake lathes, a vice some air tools and a fitting crimper. I have guys all the time say how nice it is to see 3 huge catalog racks and several shelves full top to bottom with old service manuals all the way back to the 30's and 40's. I am in my 23rd year in parts and sometimes you have to go back to paper catalogs, you're not gonna find parts for a 41' IH Farmall tractor in a damn computer. I'm afraid OldFox that the days of the machine shop are going away and that's a very sad thing.
Dewey------ I'm afraid OldFox that the days of the machine shop are going away and that's a very sad thing. We are very lucky here in the boonies. They have a machine shop plus a speed shop across the street that does almost anything needed. Also a few blocks away another old racer and his female helper can build an engine or a set of heads. Back in Illinois NAPA had a shop too but I don't know about their new store there. Down here we can get exhaust pipes bent, flanged, etc., drums turned, and many other things done by old time mechanics who know a Farmall from a Toyota. The counter people, both female and males, most often don't even look at the computer until they run back and get the part. Then it's just to get the codes and prices. This is an agricultural area so many farmers and truckers do shop there.
Built a guy a pulley and bearing set for a corn picker the other day, he was tickled pink. Lets see those Autozone guys pull that one off.