I finally got smart and bought a bench mounted third member rotisserie. What a nice thing to have for us old guys. OK update, Brakes done, axle housing done, axles done and third member is all cleaned and ready for reassembly. The only thing Im waiting for is a "Depth Micrometer" that is scheduled for delivery on the 27th (the last piece of the puzzle). Then Ill be able to take the pinion depth and axle centerline readings I need to set my depth up accurately. Well that's it for today. Not much of a thread, I know, but I just felt like checking in and sharing. Ill do an album or build thread after I get done with this thing.

 

whats it cost? looks easy to make.

 

It was 39.99 at Speedway. Its positioning is adjustable ,tension from loose, to a hard lock in any position. I was very pleased with the quality.

 

You are making great progress of the "unknown"

 

For $40, that looks like a handy gadget. I can't crawl around on the floor, working on this stuff anymore. It looks like you're doing a careful job on that, Jim.

 

Nice work Jimmy.

Say, what's that calendar with the manure spreader on it?

 

Jim, I am signing up for your thread. I am driving my 49 with a 9 inch rear, same as yours. The rear is one of the few parts of the truck that I did not do personally. I had a friend of a good friend rebuild it, I supplied all of the parts including the trac lock setup. I bought the rear as an open rear and bought the trac lock separately. I had him rebuild it using the original 3.70 gear set. Now for the news: I have developed a whine when on the throttle even slightly (not off the throttle). My internet research indicates this is not all that unusual. One potential issue that I see is using the original gears there are those that claim that the gears wear in and if the pattern changes it can cause the whine. I would be interested in your experience and what others on the forum offer. Not to hi jack yourthread since I think that you also want to avoid the whine, so have at it!

 

I've been debating replacing the whole 3rd member of my 9" Ford vs replacing a pinion seal. The seal started leaking after the truck sat in the garage for two years (other priorities).

Since I know squat about rear ends (mechanical), I'd like your opinion Jim.
Would the seal be easy to replace? Thanks.

 

There is a group of video mechanics on U-TUBE that go by the name of "CAR TAPES" who have an excellent four pat series on tearing down, inspecting and rebuilding the ford 9" that I have found very helpful. Im pretty much at a stand still until I get my depth mic. So until then have a great day.

 

Hi Joe, The calendar was a freebie from Dennis Carpenter. In came in one of there box's.

 

They only put the best looking trucks on their calendars

 

This is my first rear end, but from my understanding the pinion depth and preload is done with the seal out and its(along with the oil slinger) put in after the mentioned settings. So replacing the seal should not affect your settings as long as the pinion nut was and will be set to the correct torque. But like I said I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination.

 

Strictly speaking, you are supposed to replace the crush sleeve if you loosen the pnion nut (like to replace the seal). Most people don't, I'd wager. You may need to replace the yoke to get a leak-free setup tho. Most of them I've seen on older axles have a pretty bad groove in them.

 

Like Jim said, replacing the pinion seal is an easy fix as long as you hand torque the pinion nut back on (no impact gun)and don't forget to add sealer to the pinion splines, that is wear a lot of the leaks come from.

 

Dave and Ross are both professionals, so definitely follow whatever they say over anything I may advise. I'm a student they are the teachers. PS thanks guys for chiming in.