N3mi5is

Instead of cutting the old bearings up (i know too late), have them pressed off, then use a barrel sander on the ID of the bearings so now you have some set-up bearings (they will slide right onto the carrier/pinion so when you are setting up the gears you don't have to press on/off the bearings multiple times while changing shims). Then just install the new bearings with correct shims once and you're done. Keep the set-up bearings and start doing installs for friends and make some $$$!

Never had to freeze/heat a component to drive it on completely. You can use the inner race of an old bearing flipped upside down to drive the new bearing onto the pinion.

mjr46

FYI, you don't press the carrier bearings off each time to set shims in to set backlash, the shims go behind the race, once the new bearings are pressed on = done deal, no need to press them on and off nor have set up bearings for these positions, the ONLY bearing that is useful to do that tactic, is THE PINION BEARING, I have a mock up bearing for that one and that one only

strattonc

The whole heat and cool method works great we have done it on jet engine shafts, you just have to work fast with precision because if not the shaft is warming and the race is cooling and you dont want that to happen halfway through but I guess in this case you can just drive it home with the old race. Cant quite do that with a jet engine haha.

stdyhand

I ordered the traction lok rebuild kit with the carbon discs. I have to wait a couple days to get it so unfortunately I'll have to wait a little longer to see just how well it performs. It's better to wait I guess. The traction lok discs do have some of those tabs broke off so that is what fell out.

Which setup would you recommend for the clutch discs? I saw a short video where someone was suggesting a different setup than what was setup from the factory. I believe it was on youtube. He mentioned having a steel against the ring gear first instead of a fiber. It seems logical but wanted to see what others thought

N3mi5is

Thanks, was posting about gear set-up in general. Forgot the 8.8 used outside shims (set-up too many Dana diffs).

AdderMk2

When I get my new trac-lok, I'll be setting my rear with the "alternate" packing method.

buster

Hey, more poer to you, and you are braver than I am. I truly hope it works out for you.

stdyhand

Trac-lok comes in this Thursday IF UPS can deliver it. I just got back home today after leaving in a hurry yesterday evening to avoid the fast rising water. The levee just two blocks away was breeched last night. The levee held but water was coming over the top and by the time I got my family to higher ground we were driving through some fairly deep water. I thought I was going to blow the engine for sure.

One truck tried to make it down a road and got washed off the road and into a field and had to be rescued by local law enforcement and firemen. Last night was a scary moment for sure.

I got home today to find the place still intact and the Mustang wasn't knocked off the jack stands so as long as we don't get too much more rain we may dodge the bullet on this one. I'll be keeping a very close eye on the weather in the future before starting a task which may take a few days

stdyhand

I was measuring the thickness of the pinion head on the new pinion vs. the old pinion. The old pinion head measures about 1.782" and the new pinion head measures about 1.892" thick. The new pinion head does have a slight lip around the base of the head which causes it to be slightly thicker also, which I would imagine would cause the shim to be thinner but the gear is also a little shorter so I would think that makes up the slight difference.

Isn't this a fairly extreme difference though? I thought Ford Racing gears were fairly close which allowed the use of the same shim which is about .030"

The new pinion head is also a lot smaller in diameter than the old pinion head and the whole pinion is a little shorter than the old one. I assume it would be a little smaller since the ring is thicker than the old ring gear.

The new pinion head doesn't have a "FORD" stamp on it at all. I thought it would have.

The only writing on the new pinion head says 3L3HA MO

It has what looks like the letter "J" with a line under it.

stdyhand

I think I found the problem. It was a minor oversight on my part. The old pinion head has a thicker lip at the base where the shim goes which makes up for the thinner head on the old pinion. The new pinion head has a thinner lip at the base but the overall thickness is still about the same. I am going to get some final measurements again.

The new pinion bearing I think is slightly thicker than the old pinion bearing so I may have to start off with a .025 shim to get the same overall thickness.