Hi, Many people step away from rear-end work because of the difficulty and because of the cost of the tools involved. The job is not easy and the $$ loss is huge if it goes wrong but its for sure doable.
you'll need the following tools to get the job done: a torque wrench that does in/lbs (this looks like a screwdriver and costs around $100/200) a torque wrench that does ft/lbs. A long tube with a bracket on to hold the yoke when you torque the pinion nut and a long �" or 3/4" torque arm (is it called that?) you need a hydraulic press to press the bearings on the pinion and on the carrier (here its smart to put the pinion in a lathe and sand down the black coating, because you are most probably going to take the inner bearing off a couple of times to get the right amount of shims underneath it) a dial indicator with stand Job coes like this: take the rearend off the car, blind plug all holes and clean/sandblast it and put it on two jackstands (you will need three in total)and disassemble it completely. it is smart to take out the wheelbearings at this point, they are hard to get out so use some heat and a wanker (translated from Norwegian, I guess you call it sliding hammer) use pressurized water and some heavy stuff to get it over-clean (also inside the tubes)and dry it inside out with pressurized air, put some oil on the bearing-areas right away or the will rust within the next minute. at this point you can put the pinion bearing races in (not the seal yet)and start measure up for the pinion depth set by the gear manufacturer once that is done press the bearings on the carrier and install the ring gear and see if the gears goes good together (I cant explain it but look at the spec sheet to get this right). if its all ok at this point, put some grease on the pinion bearings and install the pinion seal (with grease) then install the pinion with the crush sleeve, tighten the pinion nut to zero gap and a tad more to get some preload, continue this until you are one "pussy hair" (translated from Norwegian hehehe)from the specified torque, take the pinion nut off and reinstall it using loctite and take to the indicated torque spec (that last pussy hair). (this should be around 18/20 lb/in???). if you get to tight, start over with a new crush sleeve and seal. now put the carrier in with some shims and torque it down and measure backlash, take it apart, move shims get closer,take it apart, move shims get closer ,take it apart, move shims get closer ,take it apart, move shims get closer ,take it apart, move shims get closer ,take it apart, move shims get closer and when you are done measure it at at least three points ond the ring gear to check if its all ok. Install new wheel bearings and seals (with grease), Paint it black (I am sorry, but pink or red is not an option) galvanize all bolts and brackets. install your brakes, brake tubes etc fill it with oil and one posi lube install it in the car and drive it carefully for the first 500/1000miles, change lube once more and try to break it :o) If I did forget anything let me know and feel free to ask Q's Ciao Andr� A > Come on guys, we can do better than this, can't we? :-) While I've never > built a rear either, I and others on the list have built engines and > transmissions, taken the bodies off their frames, etc... and I can't imagine > a rear is THAT hard. > > At minimum, you'll need a mountable dial indicator for measuring backlash > and I think you're gonna need a torque wrench that does inch/lbs instead of > foot/lbs. I thought there was a decent article on this very subject in > either Car Craft or Chevy High Performance within the past few months. I'll > try to find it. In the mean time, check these out to get your feet wet. > > http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/2949/ > > http://www.thedirtforum.com/differential.htm > > -Dave > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2004 8:58 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [Chevelle-list] How to rebuild a 12-bolt rear? > > > I would not recommend you take it apart if you have not done it before. > As stated previously, you can do more harm than good. > > Tom >
