Guidance on Rear End "Refreshing"

[dcbullet]

Hi:

I have procured a 9 inch from a junker and would like to "refresh" it before I put it on my truck.

So I'm looking for guidence on what typical things I should look for. This will be the first time I have ever done anything with a rear end.

I plan on replacing the bearings and seals for axles. Does this require any special tools to remove the races?

What about the third member? From the diagram, it looks like there is a bearing in there as well. Does this require a press to replace the race? Is it worth it do it?

If I remove the third member, is the rear-end housing completely empty? That would be great because I think I could do a better job cleaning and painting it without 100 lbs of third member in there.

Thanks in advance. Since I've got the thing out, I'm looking to take care of any replacables while it's easy, so your experience and guidence would be helpful.

[FORDification]

Yes, if you remove the axles and third member, the housing is virtually empty. It would be a good time to clean and paint it.

I think at the very least I'd want to replace the axle bearings. You'll need access to a large press to get those removed. As for the rest, I'm really not sure.

[willowbilly3]

Or be handy with the torck. I have never been fortunate enough to have a press so I remove the old bearings with the gas ax. If you have your third member out you should check it over too. First thing to look for is a crack where the pilot or nose bearing rides in the housing. A common weak place. As far as freshening up the third member, maybe you should have a manual, too much to cover in a post.

[dcbullet]

Thanks for the input guys. I guess, when it comes down to it, I don't really want to remove the third member. I don't think I have the expertise to visually inspect it and detect if something is wrong. How long can one expect the bearings in the third member to last, assuming it had adequate lube for all it's life?

On to other things, I've removed the axles. The oil seals at the end of the axle housings seem in good shape. The rubber is soft, there are no rips. Do you think I can get away with not replacing them? If I do, it means takig the axle to a shop to remove and replace them.

Here's a picture.



Also, for laughs, here's a picture of one of the shoes. I might have to replace it.

[willowbilly3]

Well, I won't say it's easy but you do not need to take the axle to a shop to replace those seals. A good seal puller is a must as is something loke a section pr pipe to drive the new one in. It is usally wise to replace them when you are in there but if you have no experience replacing seals you have a better chance of these not leaking than some battered up ones.

[shrektruck]

I'm with Willow, If I gotta take the axles out and tear down the rearend I'd replace the seals. You can poke em out from the back with a long screwdriver, and new ones go in pretty easy. If you're fairly handy it'd be a crime to do everything but the seals.
In any case, be sure you don't booger em up with the axle when putting it back in.

[cdeal28078]

In our local little truck club we have swapped out several center chunks. Either swapping from one person's truck to another or swapping a new one out for the old one to swap gear sets. Out of the many we have swapped none have leaked out the axles seals and all we use is RTV between the backing plate and the flange inside and out.
The center chunk itself is not very hard to rebuild in fact I've heard it's the easiest to do. You will need a press to remove and replace the bearings plus a dial indicator and magnetic base to set the gear backlash up. You will need to get a manual to help.
I have had a rear end apart to add a Lock rite but in honesty did'nt remove any bearings. I have adjusted the backlash on a gear set though and it is'nt all that hard just time consuming.
In my opinion these rear ends are very durable and I'd suggest that if it was quiet going down the road while both speeding up and coasting with no gear whine then it is probably in pretty good shape.
clint

[dcbullet]

If I were to try to remove the seals myself, would I be using a puller like this:



Which doesn't seem like I could get enough leverage to pull them out.

Or a slide hammer type puller like this:

[FORDification]

The seal puller (top picture) will work just fine. The seal is just a very thin piece of steel with a rubber lip on it, so it'll pop right out. Heck, you could just grab it with a pair of ViceGrips and jerk it out too....either way you're going to have to replace the seal, so it's up to you.

[dcbullet]

I see. I hadn't tried to do anything to it yet and was assuming it was in there alot tighter.

Thanks!

[dcbullet]

The seal puller (top picture) will work just fine. The seal is just a very thin piece of steel with a rubber lip on it, so it'll pop right out. Heck, you could just grab it with a pair of ViceGrips and jerk it out too....either way you're going to have to replace the seal, so it's up to you.

I have successfully removed the seals. Just to share my experience with removing them, I could not, for the life of me, get them out with that seal puller. They were much to tight. The seal puller handle actually bent from the pressure I was putting on it.

What I ended up doing was sticking the end of a ratchet handle in there and then hitting the other end of the handle with a BFH. Any pry bar would work, I just chose to abuse my Craftsman.

This is by no means a post to be unapreciative of the advice, all the advice I get here is great. It's rather just to share my experience in case anyone else has the same situation.

[fordman]

i had to replace that seal once on the passenger side. i used a hammer and screwdriver to get it out. and i didn't damage anything. however i do have a scar on my lower lip from the exploding bearing when we were trying to press it off the axle.