Hi ya'll,
I been tearing into my 65' f100 recently, got a break in the weather and had a chance to do some work. I have most of the front back together from complete rebuild, all new brakes and everything, now im on the back. I went to look for a drain, couldnt find one, so i tried pulling the pinion gear side of the diff out, and i guess everything comes out on that side. Its a ford 9" 10 bolt rear end i believe. Im wondering, how on earth do you drain the diff and clean it out? I need to pull the axles to get the backing plate off and put new bearings in, i just couldnt figure it out for the life of me. I took a few shots, im sure they will help identify what i have and what i need to do. Thanks for your time, any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

You need to pull the axels out first. Then use a putty knife or something to break the seal on the third member.

 

Yep, that looks like a Ford 9" rear axle housing to me.

To drain the gear lube, you have to drop the driveshaft and pull the axles, then pull the center carrier (ring & pinion assembly) out the front.
There is no drain plug on the housing. Only a fill plug at the back.

Most folks don't pull the pinion assembly out of the center carrier unless they plan on a full re-build.

It would be easier if you remove the brake shoes and attaching hardware then you can unbolt the backing plate from the axle retaining plate.
With an axle puller you should be able to remove the axles from the housing.

Good Luck!
BarnieTrk

 

As we speek, I'm siphoning mine out from the fill-hole using a small tubing. It's very slow, so I'll leave it overnight.

 

Welcome Itsme,,,
The good news is, your gears looks good,,, the bad news is, well you pulled the pinion out,,, kinda needless work, but recoverable! You will need to pull the brake drums off, there are 4 nuts/studs on each side, spin the axle and you can get a 3/4" socket through the hole on the axle, pull all 4 each side, then you might need a slide hammer, maybe not, I have used a long piece of steel on the studs and put the lug nuts back on and the heave ho... have a can/bucket under each side, they WILL leak oil. Once axles are out, pull all the nuts, and get a screwdriver and hammer, tap the screwdriver in and pop it loose, once it breaks loose, be ready for some 90w! Drain it then pull the whole works out. And THEN put that pinion back in!!

 

You can also mount the brake drum on backwards when you get ready to pull the axel. Then you can get some leverage on the axel. Can also tap with hammer to pull it out.

 

Are you aware that once you remove the ring gear, when you re-install it...you must reset the lash?

You cannot just bolt everything back together. If you do...the rear end will self-distruct within seconds.

 

From what I see and read, he hasn't removed the RING Gear, only the pinion assembly, which CAN be just bolted back in.

And good reminder drof46 about the brake drum, hadn't done that one in awhile!

 

Thanks for all the responses and help. I havent pulled the ring gear out, so i should be good. This weekend hopefully i will get all the rear brakes apart and paint the frame and rear end. When i pull the axles out, so i need to worry about the spider gears dropping out of the diff, or is it a different setup? Ive worked on some rear ends, and if you rotate the diff while an axle is out, the spider gears fall out and you need to reset them.

 

Nope, you can pull the axles without any worry about the spider gears going anywhere.

I'd suggest that since you're pulling the axles, I'd have some new axle seals in hand so you can change them while the axles are out.

Clean everything up and inspect, replacing parts as necessary. I'd suggest a dab of Never-seize on the contact points of the brake shoes and backing plate, on the adjuster threads, and at the pivot pin at the top of the backing plate. Once you've got the brakes back together and the drums on, adjust the shoes to the drums.

Lastly, I'd suggest you bleed all four wheel cylinders to purge out the old brake fluid & any condensation and get some fresh brake fluid into them.

Good Luck!
BarnieTrk

 

Thanks for the response. I have all new bearings and seals for the axles, so im good there, and brand new wheel cylinders and everything, so i will have a bit of bleeding to do. Reminds me, i need to get some speed bleeders.

 

Yes you can bolt the pinion back in without doing anything as long as you don't mess with the ring gear bearing nuts.

However, one thing to watch for is "timed gears". Some 9 inch rear end gear ratios are timed. This means that the ring and pinion only go together one way!

The reason for this is that with certain rear end ratios, like the 3.50:1 trac loc I built for my '70 convertible, the same teeth keep touching each other over and over as the ring and pinion turn. Because of this, certain teeth are wear mated and MUST always be run together. Otherwise the rear diff will howl!

There will be marks on the ring and pinion that show which teeth must mesh together when the pinion is installed into the chunk. I'm sorry, but I don't have a list of which rear end ratios are timed. Maybe another member can chip in with this info.

 

Bad Shoe Productions How To Video Series - Ford Transmissions & Rears

There's a short list of some timed gear ratios on this web site. This guy does VERY good instructional videos.

 

Thanks very much, a great website with alot of info.

 

Ahaha...

I just use the search to figure out how to drop the rear-end fluid. Looks like a major project I don't want to get into now. I tried taking out the lowest bolt (not stud) and nothing. I did the tranny fluid and gave up on the rear end. Just topped it off for now. How much do they hold?

Maybe I'll try a pump gun in the spring.