My 8" centersection has a mini-spool and I want to replace the whole center section with a trac-loc unit. Until the time is right to blow $800 or so, I want to remove this mini-spool that came already installed. I thought that you could remove it and bolt everything back together, but as I am reading on how to install one in the first place, you actually have to remove the spider gears to replace them with the mini-spool. The info I was reading may have been about a Ford 9" or a Chevy rear which come to think of it, did the 8" ever have spider gears in the first place? I don't have those spider gears if it did laying around to reinstall if it's necessary. Basically I want to know if I can just remove the spool and go to an open rear end for a one wheel peel essentially at no cost except for replacing the gear oil, then when the time is right, put in the posi and build it right...

 

Actually, the spider and axle gears are part of the Traction-Loc, so if you buy a Traction-Loc assembly, it can be swapped into the diff assembly. If you take your diff apart and dump the spool, you'll need stock spider gears, spider gear shaft, and axle gears just to get it to work, these were removed when the spool was installed.