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Ring and Pinion Replacement

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Senderofan

Having more fun than should be allowed..in my Boss
I picked up my Boss last evening from a race shop that I had help me make sure all my suspension mods were up to par. One of the things I wanted him to check was backlash....since like most others...I'm experiences clunking from the rear end. I was informed that I have greater than 10 thousandths of backlash and should probably have Ford look at this and hopefully replace the gears. From reading posts in other threads....it seems having a warranty repair is a temporary solution to this problem. My question, for those of you in the know, is.....would I be better served having the race shop install / set up the new gear set? And would I also be better served by going aftermarket manufacturer ( i.e Currie )?

I haven't looked into what Ford's specs are for backlash. The race shop says he likes to dial in the gears between 6-9 thousandths of backlash. I'm leaning towards having the race shop do the install....not sure how many ring and pinions my local, rural, Ford dealer deals with versus the race shop that does it very frequently.

Any information / advice would be greatly appreciated.....I've been researching...but haven't found a consistent answer.

Wayne
 

Senderofan

Having more fun than should be allowed..in my Boss
VTBoss302 said:
Sadly, this has become a black art...

I don't have time to offer tips and tricks..

"Only this and nothing more"

VTBoss302

Thanks for the info. I was just wondering if going with an aftermarket ring and pinion....along with someone who will install it to tighter specs(?) would be a worthwhile endeavor? It seems like guys who've gone the warranty route have not had satisfactory results.

Also....I'm noticing an install kit from Ford....a "Premium" kit that has parts in it from the GT 500. They advertize it as upgraded / heavier duty components for the installation of new gears. Does anyone know if this is what comes standard with our factory units?? Or would this be a beneficial upgrade if it isn't?

Thanks to all who've looked at this post....thanks in advance for those who can share their experience / advice. I'm not looking for installation tips.....just looking for advice whether to go Ford warranty replacement or aftermarket with installation provided by a race shop?

Wayne

P.S.

If I go with the race shop.....I'd like to secure all the components so that all the shop has to do is the actual installation.
 
In my experience, very few dealer mechanics have the skills to properly setup a rear diff. They don't do it often enough, so don't learn all the tricks. I suspect you would be better served by the race shop.
 

Senderofan

Having more fun than should be allowed..in my Boss
NewBossowner said:
In my experience, very few dealer mechanics have the skills to properly setup a rear diff. They don't do it often enough, so don't learn all the tricks. I suspect you would be better served by the race shop.

Thanks....That was my suspicion....but wanted to ask the experts here. I've never had to deal with a out of spec ring and pinion before. Had a bad experience locally with a blown head gasket....dealership laughed at me and said they had never heard of that happening with the motor I had. Explained to them I had a pressurized coolant bottle soon after start up, loosing coolant and some puffs of smoke. They still laughed and said they had never heard of such a thing and they wouldn't touch it. So, not to disrespect all the reputable dealer mechanics out there, I just don't have a ton of confidence with my local dealerships.

Thanks again for the input....I greatly appreciate it!

Wayne
 
0.008 and 0.015 is the backlash spec for an 8.8 IIRC. Unless you have a bad whine or it is out of that range I would leave it alone. The Torsen diff is a little clunky I have noticed even more so when cold.
 

Senderofan

Having more fun than should be allowed..in my Boss
Steelhorse said:
0.008 and 0.015 is the backlash spec for an 8.8 IIRC. Unless you have a bad whine or it is out of that range I would leave it alone. The Torsen diff is a little clunky I have noticed even more so when cold.

Thanks for the info. She whines loud enough at freeway speeds that it's hard to have a conversation.......just thought that might have been amplified with the suspension mods. Guess I need to get a firm measurement of how much backlash I actually have.

Again......thanks for the info. Every little bit helps.... Still have a lot to learn about these vehicles.

Have a great weekend,

Wayne
 
Senderofan said:
She whines loud enough at freeway speeds that it's hard to have a conversation.......just thought that might have been amplified with the suspension mods.

Most rear suspension mods WILL amplify rear axle/diff noise. Some a lot more than others.
 

TMSBOSS

Spending my pension on car parts and track fees.
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Senderofan said:
Thanks....That was my suspicion....but wanted to ask the experts here. I've never had to deal with a out of spec ring and pinion before. Had a bad experience locally with a blown head gasket....dealership laughed at me and said they had never heard of that happening with the motor I had. Explained to them I had a pressurized coolant bottle soon after start up, loosing coolant and some puffs of smoke. They still laughed and said they had never heard of such a thing and they wouldn't touch it. So, not to disrespect all the reputable dealer mechanics out there, I just don't have a ton of confidence with my local dealerships.

Thanks again for the input....I greatly appreciate it!

Wayne

Wayne

I took my t-bird into ford under warranty years back. Was making a muffled whistling sound from the dash/firewall. Technician found and stopped the noise. He pinched off the heater hose stopping coolant flow which stopped the whistling. His diagnosis was to change the heater core where the noise was coming from. Since it was not leaking, my bill. No thanks.

About a year later when the car was out of warranty a head gasket let go. I swapped out the heads and gaskets also fixing the noise. Apparently the noise was a slow compression leak into the coolant. Has this been diagnosed properly at the dealer???


Lesson learned. Some dealers techs are just not up to the job. Others are simply amazing in a positive way.

Good luck.
 
Mechanics are very similar to Doctors. Some are very good at diagnostics and some are not. When you find a good one stick with him. As a thought, have you ever had a doctor tell you to try this for two weeks, and if it isn't any better come back? :)
 
wwilde001 said:
Mechanics are very similar to Doctors. Some are very good at diagnostics and some are not. When you find a good one stick with him. As a thought, have you ever had a doctor tell you to try this for two weeks, and if it isn't any better come back? :)

I have to agree, most go to work in Hospitals, the really good ones go into private practice and make a fortune. Same applies to Mechanics. ;D
 

Justin

Save the dawn for your dishes!!!
I have installed a few sets of gears in mustangs. Its not a black art skill that is hard to learn. just need the proper tools to do it and know how to do simple math.

I always set a new set of ford racing gears around 8-12 backlash. Sounds like this "shop" may just want to sell you some unneeded gears. how far over 10 was it? over 10 is very vague and after they are broken in it is very normal to see them over 10 at like 11.

I would take it to the dealer at the very least have it noted.

I stay away from any brand other then Ford Racing as it seems all the others I have had in my cars and my friends had installed in their cars have whined badly. Motive seems to be the worst out of them.

the clunk you are hearing is more then likey you two piece driveshaft. it has four joints to it so its going to clunk. I had this clunk in my boss when I first bought it. would make it when I let off the throttle and sometimes back in it. Replaced the stock DS with a DSS one piece...no more clunk.
 

Senderofan

Having more fun than should be allowed..in my Boss
Justin said:
I have installed a few sets of gears in mustangs. Its not a black art skill that is hard to learn. just need the proper tools to do it and know how to do simple math.

I always set a new set of ford racing gears around 8-12 backlash. Sounds like this "shop" may just want to sell you some unneeded gears. how far over 10 was it? over 10 is very vague and after they are broken in it is very normal to see them over 10 at like 11.

I would take it to the dealer at the very least have it noted.

I stay away from any brand other then Ford Racing as it seems all the others I have had in my cars and my friends had installed in their cars have whined badly. Motive seems to be the worst out of them.

the clunk you are hearing is more then likey you two piece driveshaft. it has four joints to it so its going to clunk. I had this clunk in my boss when I first bought it. would make it when I let off the throttle and sometimes back in it. Replaced the stock DS with a DSS one piece...no more clunk.

Thanks Justin....and all the others who have replied...I can't thank y'all enough. Been out of internet the last 6 days...my bride and I are finishing up a weeks cruise along the inside passage in Alaska.

Anyway....I'll have to investigate the DSS drive shaft. As far as the race shop guy.....I'm not concerned in the least that he's trying to get more work out of me. He said more than once that he wanted me to bring it in to Ford and have them look at a warranty situation. I think that's why he didn't give me a hard and fast number....he wants me to have the techs at the dealer look into it.

So...We'll see what comes of this.

Again...Thanks Justin and all that took time to comment....Can't thank y'all enough.

Wayne
 
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I stay away from any brand other then Ford Racing as it seems all the others I have had in my cars and my friends had installed in their cars have whined badly. Motive seems to be the worst out of them.

I'd highly recommend the Ford parts as well.
 
Well after having ford put in a few new sets of ring & pinion gears in my 2011GT and every set made the same noise from 35 MPH to 70 MPH and then go dead quite after that . I found what work best for me was to dump the car . My new car makes zero ring & pinion gear noise and now I am happy again . The fact that Ford can not set up a set of ring & pinion gears correctly in a 8.8 rear end that they been making sense 1986 is inexcusable .

Sorry for the rant but dam that felt good, I am still mad about it .
 

Justin

Save the dawn for your dishes!!!
300AGT said:
Well after having ford put in a few new sets of ring & pinion gears in my 2011GT and every set made the same noise from 35 MPH to 70 MPH and then go dead quite after that . I found what work best for me was to dump the car . My new car makes zero ring & pinion gear noise and now I am happy again . The fact that Ford can not set up a set of ring & pinion gears correctly in a 8.8 rear end that they been making sense 1986 is inexcusable .

Sorry for the rant but dam that felt good, I am still mad about it .
dump as in sell it? If it was set up right and still made noise they should have replaced the entire housing as it sounds like it wasn't line honed correctly
 

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