ImplicitWeevil

So rebuilding it is the better way to go? Are there any special tools I'll need to purchase? I'm thinking about letting it sit till summer, since I have another running vehicle atm and I don't have an indoor area for it. How long do you guys think it'll take? Once I take it apart I'll post some pics and see what you guys think of the situation then. And how many Chris's do we have on here? XD

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

2 apparently, but that's ok. It's a good name.
I don't think you'll need any special tools.
The best thing about Ford 9" back in the day (other than being hard to break) is you could have 2 of those pots - 1 with street gears and one with race gears, both already set up for lash etc.
Then you could drive to a strip with street gears, 2 guys could pull the axles and the diff pot, swap in the pot with strip gears and throw the axles back in ready to race.
Swap em back before you drive home.
The point of that is that in your situation it will be far easier for you to pull the center pot, take it somewhere and get it fixed and put it back in because the housing can stay right where it is while you do that.

ImplicitWeevil

XD I agree. Ohh I gotcha. What about actually rebuilding it myself? So I can just remove the entire housing? Or is there a bit inside that holds everything and gets pulled out. I'm pretty new to working on diffs. Most of my vehicles are FWD haha.

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

You've got to pull the axle shafts far enough out to clear the carrier inside - there should be 4 bolts behind the brake drum and even a hole in the plate at the end of the shaft to fit a socket through - google a bunch of pictures - then the center pot with the carrier and gears should come right out (if I'm remembering all this right).
Then you can take the center piece to a workbench somewhere, fix it, and put it back in.
There's probably a whole bunch of you tube videos.

ImplicitWeevil

Alright, coolbeans. Time to dust off my Google Fu it seems haha

ImplicitWeevil

And thanks for the help

GhostriderI

And like Chris said I would also replace the axle bearings and seals on both axles as added insurance so you do not have to open it up again in 6 months to a year to replace one of them IMHO

Jeff

ImplicitWeevil

I'm back. XD So I pulled it apart and there bits of metal everywhere. There were rolling bearing pieces all around in it, the pinion gear is chewed on; though, the ring gear looks mostly okay. There was not a single drop of oil in it, but there was some sludge. You can feel the metal bits when you rub your fingers together. Basically the thing is no esta bien. Since you mentioned swapping out pots, might it be a good idea to simply take the pot out from another equivalent differential?

I'm going to hit up some shops to see what it would cost to get it rebuilt, but I'm seriously considering pulling the pot from another vehicle (especially because a lot of shops have closed down lately). I counted the teeth on the ring and pinion gears and I got 10 on the pinion and 35 on the ring, so I guess that puts me at a 3.5. Is there a way to know the ratio before I pull it, in case I go that route?

But for real it'd be awesome if there were vehicles with equivalent parts. It's pretty hard to track down parts for an 85 f150 around here, at least, parts that don't cost me a blood contract. Seriously - I was curious and went to some parts stores to discover the bearing kit for the pinion gear was like 400 bucks. I'd consider just rebuilding it myself if the parts weren't going to cost more than the truck, haha. My main goal is to get this thing roadbound for now. And good tips on the axle bearings and seals, I'll be sure to do that.

Thanks

GhostriderI

Any Ford rear end that meets your specs should work. Parts from 1981-1985 Bronco, F-150 and some F-250 are direct fit, the 1980 of the ones I listed had some wiring differences but every thing else should fit and work.

Hope this helps
Jeff

ImplicitWeevil

Awesome thanks! Looking around for those now. Is there a way to tell if it's a 3.5 before we pull it? So is 85 the newest I can go? Did they change up the diff after that? I found an 86 that looks pretty close I'm going to check out.