rastarocket

Im going to be putting a locker diff in in my 04 GT. while i was in there, i was advised to replace the axle bearings and seals because they have 57k on them. before i do that, i was wondering if there were any special things i needed to know before i start the project. like will i need a new cotter pin, or axle nut? how many foot lbs is the axle nut? any little bits of advice would be nice, thanks.

WhiteFoxGT

axle bearings and seal are pressed in. You take a slide hammer and special adapter to remove them, and then use a bearing race driver to install the new bearings and seals. No nuts, bolts, or cotter pins associated.

ctgreddy

^+1. you can rent the puller/slide hammer from an autozone. and to put the new ones in, i usually set it in the axle, then take the old one, hold it up in front of it, and hit that with a hammer until the new one is in all the way. has worked well for me in the past.

rastarocket

ok sweet, thats for the help, but isnt there a big old nut right in the hub that i gotta take off to slide the axle out?? and is that the same one thats gotta get torqued to 220ft lbs or something??

uberstang1

No the axles are held in place with c clips inside the rear end. Judging by the questions your are asking you might be in over your head with this. Setting up arear end isnt a matter of unbolting the diff and bolting a new one in, you need to add shims, check backlash, set preload etc etc which requires the expereice and tools to do it. The nut your are referring to is the piniom nut which is recessed in the pinion flange which is beind the driveshaft, these nuts come with the install kits.

WhiteFoxGT

TRUEBLUE3934

UBERSTANG1 is correct. You are thinking of the pinion which requires quite a lot of torque to get seated. I tend to agree with his assessment that unless you have an experienced helper, you may want to reconsider doing this task yourself. Not one to usually discourage someone from attempting a task themself if they feel up to it, setting up a rearend correctly is not, as stated above, a simple matter of just unbolting a part and bolting a new one in its place.

GOOD LUCK and absolutely ask questions before hand if you intend to do this on your own!

rastarocket

well im not going to be touching the ring rear and pinion, all im doin is gutting the carrier, and putting in a locker, but i was told that i might as well change the axle bearings and seals since id have to move the axle to get the c clips out. Ive installed a locker before, ive just never gone as far as taking the axles all the way out to change the bearings and seals, and thats what i was wondering, if there are gonna be any suprises or helpful tips before i do it? i mean tell me what you think? is it even worth doing that on a car with 57k ? thanks again for all the help.

uberstang1

.................. To replace the differential you need to removed the pinon nut.... and the ring gear is bolted to the carrier, the carried just doesn't unbolt and you bolt a new one in it doesn't work that way. Not to mention it your putting in a whole different carrier, in this case a locker, into the rear end, which obviously is a different shape and size than the stock carrier which means a big chance of re shimming being necessary.

rastarocket

no no, im not touching the carrier, that doesnt move, which means the ring gear and pinion dont move. all im doing is taking the spider gears side gears and clutch packs out, and replacing that with the powertrax locker parts. (this)

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PWT-1820-LR/?rtype=1

and the onyl thing im unsure about is how to slide the axles in to remoce the c clips, on a mustang, and i was hoping to get some tips for that, and if while im in there i should replace the axle bearings?