Just traded in my 03 Blazer for a 97 f-150 with 118,000 miles. Needed some quick money and for my line of work a pick up just made more sence. With quick cash being the motive(not to mention wanting to own a ford again) I didnt pay to close attention to the howling noise the rear end was making. As I drove it over the next couple days the howling got louder and when I would hit bumps you could faintly hear or ting ting or a ping ping still cant figure the exact noise out. To make a long story a little shorter I had a friend that knew a mechanic that has worked on fords for 30 years take a look. The initial thought without tearing anything apart was the axle bearings. After he got to work he found the carrier bearings was the reason I would hear the ting sound. We went to the local ford dealership and got the bearings we needed wich came out to 120$ This is where I explain why Im still without a truck. It was getting late so he said he would finish the next day. The next day comes and goes with no mechanic, and so on and so on for 2 more days. Finally I call the friend that introduced us and he found him and got him back under the rear end. We took the piece to another body shop to get the bearings pressed on. That was all the work he wanted to do for that day. 2 days later he comes back and 10 min later he says he forgot wich direction the carrier bearing caps were when he took them off. So that was that for that day. Growing more and more frustrated I went to auto zone and purchased the Hanes manual to the pick up and did some researching of my own on the net to figure out where he was and how much was left. I then got the crazy idea I could finish the job myself. Still not knowing what the part was that i moved, (not took out but moved). I realized maybe mechanics deserve a little more credit than I have gave them in the past. I found the mechanic that night to ask some questions about what this "bracket" was that was in the way for letting me slip a couple gears into place that has a pin go threw them. Did I mention I really am not to mechanicly inclined? Just as the last word to my question came out of my mouth the color to his face had went pure white. I soon found out that wasnt a bracket but a compressed piece of metal that sits in there at that exact spot for a reason. The next day I was shocked to find him at my vehicle before me. I guess I should add that this is being done in a snow filled parking lot. He came to me with a puzzled look and asked me what the hell I did. I explained that I may have moved it a little bit in my attempt to fix it. Well so much for making a long story short but Ill finish up here. The ford dealership wasnt open since it was christmas eve and he told me he wants to make sure where that part sits before he goes at it. I guess my reasoning for posting this thread is Im going crazy worrying about this and since this truck is also my work vehicle im quickly going broke and curious what cheap options there are for me to get this truck running again. If you have made it this far threw my novel then I appreciate your patience and hope some f-150 fanatic out there understands what Im blabbing about and can help out a proud owner of a 97 f 150 truck still on jack stands in a cold snow filled parking lot.

 

LOL, long story short???
You need to know what your doing or have done it before. Rebuilding a rear takes special tools and know how.
If you could find a hole rear-end assembly,(ya know, axel and all) with the same gears in it as yours. You could just put it in for a lot less money. But you might as well let someone finish up the job you got going know.

Good luck with it and welcome to the site.

 

Thanks for the greating, just wish I would have posted a thread in the begining of tabacol. If you can understand my description could you tell me what this piece is and how important being in the exact place is? It is a metal piece inbetween two bigger gears and 2 smaller gears go ontop and under it with a pin going threw the middle of the smaller gears. The mechanic says ford has to compress them into the spot and if it comes out you have to have ford put them in again. Just curious of what the piece is called and if it was moved a little if it can me put back into place or if I need to be calling the dealership thismorning.

 

I have never done it. But my mechanic dose it all the time without the help of Ford.

Sounds like the shims , and every thing in there needs to be exact or it will hum and tear up your gears.

At this point, you might as well bight the bullet and have it towed into Ford and pay them to put it together.

 

The little gears are the spiders that the big pin goes thru. The carrier bearing caps need to be marked before you take them off. I think what you are talking about are the shims that go on each side by the carrier bearings...they should not be mixed up either. Bite the bullet and have it taken to KNOWN reputable shop....maybe even a dealership.. that have the tools and know how to fix this mess. You need to have the pinion bearings and outer axle bearings done also...those are cheap. I think the whole kit for that is like a $100 bucks. Setting the pinion crush washer has to be done correctly also. Good luck...it will all work out in the end. ( no pun intended)

Just an after thought. Maybe those metal pieces are the domed shims that go under the spider gears. They will look like domed washers with a hole in the middle. One each goes under each spider gear. Those I think you can mix up...not sure though.

 

Glad I got everyone thinken so hard on a Monday. This piece I am trying to figure out is one solid piece. From what I seen it is mostly square and is between the 2 big gears. I bought the bareing package for 120 from ford, which ones he has replaced already for sure I know are the carrier bearings. For the caps, In the manual all it says is to mark or keep in mind wich way they where on. These caps have triangles on them and from what I seen in the manual and the information he dug up is they are supose to point out towards the tires. If that doesnt sound rite to anyone please let me know. For biting the bullet, as much as I want to take it in, financially rite now its not a possability unless ford has a type of payment plan. Once the truck is fixed I could have the bill paid for with no problem, unless their is more wrong than he found. What is keeping me from a good nights sleep is this unknown piece of compressed metal. Also itd be nice to be able to talk to my mechanic later on this morning and actually sound like I know whats going on with my rear end.

 

Sorry for a new post but after reading Spottys reply I made an eduacated assumption that these smaller gears (Spiders) go on top and bottom of this (square, one piece, metal, mechanic said compressed, Pain in the A**) metal piece. And between the big gears on each side.

 

Can you post a picture of what this piece looks like? It might help.