fr7
New Member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2016
- Messages
- 115
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
- Location
- Lincoln NE
- Vehicle Year
- 1998
- Make / Model
- ford
- Engine Size
- 3.0
- Transmission
- Manual
Hi guys, I started this thread before and when I was almost done I dropped my phone and it shut off so I lost it, I'm gonna start all over again..
I've been posting like crazy lately, last winter was miserable driving this truck having 4wd problems and all kinds of other problems, I don't want to go through it again, I'd like to get as much done on it as i can and I'm running out of time, I can see winter around the corner.
I've been having all kinds of clunks coming from underneath the truck, at first I thought u joints so I replaced the 2 rear and the front one, that didn't solve anything. After a closer inspection I found out the rear diff was making the weird noises so I put it on the repair list. After thinking about rebuilding the rear end for a while I ran across a ranger with a limited slip differential at the junk yard, so I ran my test and everything passed, so I yanked the whole thing out of it. After a couple hours, a back pain and $120 I walked out of there with a potential upgrade.
To my surprise, after I cracked it open everything looked damn good inside, no worn or broken pieces, no excessive play, everything nice and tight, no bearing noise, no burnt clutch smell, old fluid was thick, clean and clear, no metal shavings, it even has new brake shoes and hardware on it. My friend used to be a "damn" good mechanic back in his days and after checking it out gave me the go ahead and do it. Now, before I get my hopes way up there, I have some questions before I swap it out.
I currently have a 7.5" open diff with 3.73 gear ratio, the LSD I got from the junk yard is an 8.8" but It's still have the same 3.73 ratio, to my understanding it should work without any problems, am I right??? I took everything with it, u bolts, sway bar, brake lines, etc, I don't know how much of it I need to use but I kept them just in case.
I got the aftermarket felpro gasket, fluid and friction modifier already, it looks like it will bolt right up. Is there any suggestions, advice, tips from you guys before I swap it out?? I feel confident but I don't want to do all of this work for nothing. Thanks everyone for your patience.
I've been posting like crazy lately, last winter was miserable driving this truck having 4wd problems and all kinds of other problems, I don't want to go through it again, I'd like to get as much done on it as i can and I'm running out of time, I can see winter around the corner.
I've been having all kinds of clunks coming from underneath the truck, at first I thought u joints so I replaced the 2 rear and the front one, that didn't solve anything. After a closer inspection I found out the rear diff was making the weird noises so I put it on the repair list. After thinking about rebuilding the rear end for a while I ran across a ranger with a limited slip differential at the junk yard, so I ran my test and everything passed, so I yanked the whole thing out of it. After a couple hours, a back pain and $120 I walked out of there with a potential upgrade.
To my surprise, after I cracked it open everything looked damn good inside, no worn or broken pieces, no excessive play, everything nice and tight, no bearing noise, no burnt clutch smell, old fluid was thick, clean and clear, no metal shavings, it even has new brake shoes and hardware on it. My friend used to be a "damn" good mechanic back in his days and after checking it out gave me the go ahead and do it. Now, before I get my hopes way up there, I have some questions before I swap it out.
I currently have a 7.5" open diff with 3.73 gear ratio, the LSD I got from the junk yard is an 8.8" but It's still have the same 3.73 ratio, to my understanding it should work without any problems, am I right??? I took everything with it, u bolts, sway bar, brake lines, etc, I don't know how much of it I need to use but I kept them just in case.
I got the aftermarket felpro gasket, fluid and friction modifier already, it looks like it will bolt right up. Is there any suggestions, advice, tips from you guys before I swap it out?? I feel confident but I don't want to do all of this work for nothing. Thanks everyone for your patience.