Gear installation

[blacksheep-1]

Crush sleeves are for manufacturing efficiency. Use the solid spacer and set it up correctly and you are done.
Need to replace a seal or change yokes, no guessing about how tight or loose, put it back together and torque it.
If you use a crush sleeve you can measure the old one , and put the new one in a press and squeeze it down a bit first, generally once the sleeve starts to deform the effort required is reduced.
I did lots of differential repairs in my career and i would rather work on the diff of a garbage truck than these miserable integral carrier diffs.

I agree there. A friend was telling me will set them.up with the sleeve, measure the sleeve and ad .001 to the spacer pack, and from there on out it can be impact gunned on, off, whatever needed. Does that sound like the plan. Yes the 9inch Ford has never been surpassed ( not even by the Dana 60) as
" America's differential"

 

[EF1]

I tried the solid shim when I did the gear swap a couple of years ago. I could not get it set up right with the Yukon gear solid spacer kit. It was either too loose of too tight. It just didn't seem to have the right combination to get it within spec. After multiple tries I ended up going back to the crush sleeve to get the tension within spec. I like the idea of the solid spacer, but I just could not get it right. I will try again the next time it comes apart.

 

[xr7]

I tried the solid shim when I did the gear swap a couple of years ago. I could not get it set up right with the Yukon gear solid spacer kit. It was either too loose of too tight. It just didn't seem to have the right combination to get it within spec. After multiple tries I ended up going back to the crush sleeve to get the tension within spec. I like the idea of the solid spacer, but I just could not get it right. I will try again the next time it comes apart.

One option is to measure the too tight and too loose stack . The wet sand the spacer on some very fine emery paper.
Another option would to be buy another manufactures kit and see if a combo of the two kits work. Buy from Amazon and return the kit if it doesn't work.

 

[EF1]

One option is to measure the too tight and too loose stack . The wet sand the spacer on some very fine emery paper.
Another option would to be buy another manufactures kit and see if a combo of the two kits work. Buy from Amazon and return the kit if it doesn't work.

I thought about that, but when you are talking 1,000ths of an inch I I didn't want to try sanding down the parts to the kit. I was running out of time and didn't have time to order in another kit. I went with what worked. I will try again the next time it comes apart for something.

 

[TeeLew]

So a buddy has a 7.5 diff that will be getting a 3.73 ring and pinion. The 7.5 is a close relative to the 8.8, so the procedure will be essentially the same. The little 7.5 was around until 1992 ish in the Gt and works well with engines up to about 350HP.

I'm not trying to be 'that guy', but, if memory serves (and there's no reason why it should), I think they went to the 8.8 about the same time as they went to EFI in 1986. For sure the 8.8 was available in 1987, because I pulled one from a GT and put it under my '79 Indy Pace Car. Having said that, I think the 7.5 was in all of the Fox 4 cylinders through 1993.

Cool project. I second the idea of a spacer in place of the crush sleeve. It makes life much, much easier if you ever have to get inside the thing, again. It helps to have a lathe handy to get it perfect.

 

[blacksheep-1]

I'm not trying to be 'that guy', but, if memory serves (and there's no reason why it should), I think they went to the 8.8 about the same time as they went to EFI in 1986. For sure the 8.8 was available in 1987, because I pulled one from a GT and put it under my '79 Indy Pace Car. Having said that, I think the 7.5 was in all of the Fox 4 cylinders through 1993.

Cool project. I second the idea of a spacer in place of the crush sleeve. It makes life much, much easier if you ever have to get inside the thing, again. It helps to have a lathe handy to get it perfect.

I had an 06 S197 with the V6, it was a 7.5, so they were around for awhile, decent diff, at least ad robust as the GM diff that came in Z28s and turbo Buicks

 

[cgornowich]

I made the stupid mistake of having a self proclaimed "mechanic" set up my rear end, and it whined horribly. I decied to do it myself. It took me three attempts to get the "pattern" anywhere close to good. Seems to work, anyway.... How does it look to you guys? I'm trying to show both "powered" and "decel" in this picture.

 

[blacksheep-1]

Looks pretty legit as long as side to side and backlash is good