Guys, I bought an 8.8 out of a 2000 Explorer for mama’s 55 Ford to replace the loose, leaking rear end. So, as luck would have it, the bolt that holds the carrier pin in place was sheared off. I tried for hours to get it out. I drilled, ez out, everything I could think off. Eventually, I had to make a decision. I drove what was left of the pin down through the carrier case. Not the perfect scenario, but it is what it is. So, school me on differentials. I can buy the whole carrier for a couple hundred bucks. I just don’t know how much of it is plug and play? If I don’t disturb the pinion, can I just unbolt the ring gear and transfer it over to the new carrier? I don’t trust the structural integrity of the old carrier now that I had to wail on it.
Roadkill just did a thing on that, very common on the 8.8 Gimme a minute and I'll see if I can find it. -Abone.
Don't thank me, I can't find it. I thought it was the 4 door 40 Ford sedan they did a while back, but that wasn't it. It solves the exact riddle you are facing, IF you can find it. -Abone.
Check your back lash on your existing set, put new carrier in , see if you have the same backlash. If so, your good to go. If close, probably ok. If way off, adjust carrier. I do not know how on a 8.8. I know some rear ends have no adjustment. I put new bearings in my 2000 1/2 ton Ford Pu, there were no shims anywhere. Bones
Pinion depth would likely be okay under that scenario, but backlash may need to be reset as the machining of the new carrier may only be nominally the same as the old carrier, but not exactly the same, resulting in different pinion/ring gear clearance.
Just checked with the local "pull-a-part", a complete rear axle from a car is less than a hundred bucks, for that price you'd be time and money ahead by buying a complete undamaged axle and scrapping what you have.
It would all end up being the same. I would have to do the same thing to it I figure....besides, I have to narrow this anyway. The open carriers are cheap enough.
Yes you can purchase just a carrier and should be a pretty simple deal, I would try to find a new ford one( it will be closer on tolerances) over a aftermarket. Measure backlash before and keep everything organized side for side and you will be shocked at how close it will be Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
That’s what I found when I did the rear end in my pick up. Just put new bearings in and hoped for the best. Runs just fine, I can sometimes hear a little whine, but I figure it may be because the old worn bearing let the gears kinda wear a little off. Truck now has 250,000 miles on it. About a 100,000 on the new bearings. Bones
This was out of a 2000 Exploder, but I have no idea on the mileage. The wear pattern looks good, but I don't know squat about differentials.
Do some googling...tons of info on those rear ends. How are you dealing with the axle offset? Does it bolt in with no interference?
I am shortening the long side. I bought an additional short axle from an Explorer. The hardest part is the stupid pin. I should have ordered the removal tool. I didn’t know they existed until it was too late. I can get the replacement Ford Traction Lok carrier, loaded for about $200. The dang bearings and kit are $75.
Good Luck... from what I’ve read they are a good option, can handle some hp, 31 spline and have a LSD...and can still be had for way less than a 9”
They have shims, the factory ones are usually a thick one on each side, you can buy an installation kit, bearings, seals, shims etc, from Quick Performance cheap and they are quaulity parts.
They do have shims , they just look differently than you normally see . They are ground to the correct thickness and installed during assembly . Meaning as an example if .250 thickness is needed normally you may see a . 050 +.050 + .100 + .025 + . 025 to equal .250 . On an 8.8 you only see one ground “shim “ to equal the space needed on each side of your carrier . . This was just an example , it’s late and my math may not be correct . If you are just replacing a carrier the biggest hassle of pinion depth will not change just carrier side to side . Take your time and get some marking compound it’s not as bad as it sounds .
Not just the Fords, I've done a few pin repairs on Jeep rears. Used a case spreader to get the center out, funny thing is after bearing replacement I followed factory specs for shimming.......turns out the factory was wrong and they were burning up bearings from new, didn't learn about that until way later. I didn't hear of any failures before I left that shop .
I got the rear end prepped for narrowing. I’ll do that this next week. It’s all been cleaned and brackets removed. I ordered a factory Ford Traction Lok carrier and shims. This will be a learning experience for me.
It’s still going. I narrowed the axle housing, but need to weld it back up. Doing that in a few minutes....just as soon as the shop warms up.
If you kept track of which "spacer" shim was on left and right of the carrier, reinstall your new carrier the way the old one came out first and check pattern.
I found a locker in the salvage yard from 8.8, and took it apart in the yard; same thing happened. Should have drug it home where I had a better choice of tools to take it apart. Even though there is a small piece of cast missing, the threaded area was not effected, I may still reuse the locker on my off topic e150 work van. Don't forget clutch additive in oil.
Here's mine for my 56' Vic. All those goofy block of cast iron taken off. Normal yoke and e-brake internal arms to use the stock e-brake cables.
Mine has the desc brakes on the rear. Not sure how that will work out, but we are going for it. I bought all new vented/drilled rotors online, plus zinc coated calipers. Pretty cheap. I am anxious to try and put it all back together to see if the axle lines up. Hopefully, I distributed the heat evenly enough. Tig welded mine. Length should be ok, if it doesn't warp all outta shape. What's the big cast iron chunk for? Mine looked like it had ballast bolted to it.
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