mySAVIOReigns

Well I finally got my new 8" rear end (Thanks JamesW and Daze for assisting). It's your basic ol 8" 2.79 ratio 65 rear end. The day after I bought it I had a guy offer me one with 3.25 gears [&:]

Anyways, it's sitting on my patio right now (ask me how hard it was to get it up a flight of stairs ) and I'm wondering what I should do. I want to open up the diff and check the gears, but will that mess anything up; in other words, can I just bolt it back on when I'm done?

2nd thing is, I'd like to make it look fairly nice, even though no one will see it... I was going to wire-wheel all the rust off, and paint it black. Any other tips?

3rd thing is, I know the wheel bearings should be changed, as I have no idea where it was previously. Can I do this, or should I take it to a shop? They spin pretty freely, but I'd feel safer having them changed.

Last thing - is there a difference between this 8" rearend and my 7.5" rearend as far as the yoke goes? Should my driveshaft bolt right up? And how about my springs/shocks - should they bolt right up? Mine is a 66 six-cyl, and this is out of a 65 V8.

Daze

How hard was it to get up a flight of stairs?

Pulling the differential is not that hard however you will need to pull the axles first (which means it is a good idea to replace your axle seals) and you will need to replace the main gasket of course.

As far as cleaning up the housing a wire wheel will work, but a 120 grit flap disc on a angle grinder will strip it down to bare mettle and be way faster. If you use an angle grinder make sure you use a flap disc and not a stone!!!

Wheel bearings are a piece of cake to change, if you have a press if not you will be required to farm out the job because they must be pressed on and off.

JMD

I say that your driveline will work with with the axle yoke, you might need a hybrid u-joint due to differences in cap diameter, but probably not.


All u-joints listed have the same overall width of 3.218, for I-6 and V-8.

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsea...115+4294908395

Oh yea,,, everything should bolt right up....

mySAVIOReigns

Awesome, I will get a flap disk and sand it down, paint it, and pull the axles. Then I guess I'll take it to a shop who will do the bearings (how much does that run, anyways?) and bring it back, throw some brakes on there, and fasten it all up.

Thanks guys!

crunchyskippy

I'm interested in sanding and painting aspect... Any suggestions on primer/paint selection or type?

Thanks in advance.

baddog671

Just out of curiosity, whats the weight of an 8"? I had tomanhandle my 9" around myself and holy hell was that heavy..

mySAVIOReigns

8" rear is 170 lbs. and the 9" rear is 194 lbs.

mySAVIOReigns

MWhahaha! The downstairs neighbors moved out, so now I can go at it with the flap disk and clean this puppy up

So I'm here for a legitimate point, I had a question. When I take the third member off, I just remove all of nuts, carefully pull it off, and set it aside...then when I put it back, I want to use a new gasket right? I bet I can pick one up at the partshouse, but should I use any type of sealant?

As long as I don't screw around with the third member, it should be fine to just drop back in there, right? I'm just inspecting the gears. I'll probably paint the outside as well.

TexasAxMan

While you are getting the gasket, I'd replace the copper washers too. I'd take it apart, clean it up, put it back together and then paint. Also, you'll need new gaskets between the brake backing plate and axle housing, and ones between the backing plate and the axle retainer. All in all, less than $20 or so.

Daze

make sure you drain the fluid first, and to answer your question the gasket will be fine by it self.