thanx again steve thats what i'll do!

ojai150, yeah as you can see earlier in the post i've done that. The correct replacement axle runs $850 and up, with 50k or less miles on it. I found one for $500 with 110k miles or a remanufactured for $1400. Yes, I could pull the cover and inspect it but as I stated earlier I've thoroughly inspected mine 3 times now with no obvious problems. The axle bearing is just starting to get loose but the noise has been there for 70k miles. I'm not sure the bearing is going to get rid of the original noise.

If I could get a used assembly for a few hundred knowing I might have to spend 4-5 hundred repairing it. I could live with that. Buying one for 5-9 hundred, I think id rather get mine rebuilt.

 

pulling the axle and bearing is a very simple job , as I laid out in detail.
I bet if you get a new bearing , and compare it to the old bearing , you will see right away what is wrong ,..and you could always return the new one if not needed .

What city do you live in ? Are there parts houses near by ?

 

Saturday is the big day!

Replacing Both axle bearings and seals and the pinion seal. I will update post soon to add any tips and/or issues so it's a little easier on the next guy or girl that has to tackle this project.

 

Is the pinion seal leaking now ?

If not , I definitely would not mess with it , this can go sideways real quick .

 

UPDATE!

Saturday morn. I removed the diff. cover to remove axle shafts. The oil was dark again and had a lot of metallic powder in it. Performed my usual inspection and immediately ran into a much larger problem.

The left carrier bearing was toast allowing the carrier to move about an 1/8" also the right carrier shim had broken into 3 pieces but was still firmly in place.

Keep in mind I have never done this before! I called a reputable shop and explained the situation and used a sad voice. I really was sad!! Complete bearing replacement only, installed, $600 - $700. Gear set if needed would be additional and they couldn't start until Tuesday afternoon. After panicking I crawled back under the truck and investigated. Looked like I could do this!! Worst case, I screw it up and they charge me for towing. I did a little research online and decided I would tackle the repair.

I was able to remove the axle shafts then reinstall the pin. I then removed the carrier bearing caps and removed the carrier assembly as one piece (all gears intact). The result: I found the cause of the rear end noise for almost 70k miles. The bearing that failed had scaling on about half of the outer race and a quarter of the inner race. The roller bearings didn't look to bad but were worn.

 

At this point, the differential case is cleaned and ready. The new axle shaft bearings and seals are installed. The old inner races are removed from the carrier, the carrier and axle shafts are clean and ready and the bearings and a super shim kit have been ordered. If everything goes correctly I should have it together by Friday (waiting for parts). Thats only a day more than the shop would have had it.

I will update when completed!


A few notes: 1) save yourself a lot of work and head aches, borrow the bearing puller kit and the bearing/seal installer kit from the parts store. I thought of this ahead of time and used both. It would have been a real pain without them!
2) I cleaned my garage and parked the truck so I had plenty of room on both sides to pull the axle shafts out and far enough in so the garage door would close. I then put the truck via the axle assembly on jack stands with my floor jack under the diff. as a backup safety measure. I also removed the spare tire and have the truck high enough so I can sit indian style and work. This way I have no worries about how long it sits there.

 

when you push the new carrier bearings on, make sure the seat against the bottom . I have seen the push plate bottom on top of the carrier and the bearing not seat all the way. The carrier tube MIGHT stick thru the bearing 1/16 inch.......... Use the same size shims on the same side that came off the original carrier bearings. That will be REAL close. Backlash will depend on the position of the pinion. Take your time and get the nut torqued right and preload set right... will save you a LOT of problems ... did you pull the pinion ? If all that crud was inside the oil, those bearings will show wear also.

 

Thanx! I cleaned the carrier tubes with a scotch bright pad. Just enough so the metal is shiny. I have a press and found a 3/4 drive socket that fits nicely over the tube. Your saying, make sure the inner race of the bearing bottoms out on the carrier? I noted before removal that is the way they had it and like you said the tube stood just a little proud of the inner race.

I stated the bearing was "toast" but really other than the scaling they didn't look bad and there were no flakes of metal only powder. Like metallic paint. I put a high power magnet in the oil pan yesterday. Moved it around several times then let it sit in there over night. After about 34 hours in the oil I moved it around again then pulled it out. A very fine metal residue, almost like cream, was on the magnet. A small high power magnet will be added to the bottom of the diff. case to catch anything that gets stirred up when its moving again.

I checked the pinion but didn't remove it. Feels very solid! Tomorrow I'm going to remove the driveshaft from the yoke and test the pinion for preload. I have specs for "used" preload. If thats good and the bearings are solid I will not remove it. If theres play, it will have to be removed. I definitely want this to last but I'm not interested in making it new ($$) again. I know the R & P gears are worn with 122k miles, some of those pulling a large trailer, and some of the last 5k miles the carrier hasn't been running true (due to the bearing). It's not going to be perfect but I'll Get it close! I've dumped $4k into this thing in 11 months. The moths are moving back into my wallet!!

 

I was told by ford parts man to use assembly oil on bearings and seals not grease. Any comments or thoughts on this?

Maybe grease could change specs on synthetic oil with friction modifier??

I bought all FMC oil & modifier.

 

Update:

I removed the drive shaft from the yoke. Turning it by hand, I could feel and hear the tiny pits in the bearings. Removed the pinion gear all bearing cones and cups/races and cleaned everything up. I have all the new parts ordered and waiting to reassemble.

footnote: I had hoped to use all FMC parts but nearly everything I checked on was at least 3 times the price. I bought all Timken bearings and so far all of them are made in USA. I bought them thru an online parts dealer. A rough total is $225 for all parts (used same gear set) to rebuild the rear axle. I did a lot of research to get the highest quality for the lowest price.

footnote 2: If you rebuild a 05, 9.75, limited slip differential the pinion bearings (cones & cups) are not carried by many stores. I had to remove everything and get numbers from the original parts (what I think is original). They are not sold as a set! Unless you get a complete overhaul kit. I would have done that had I known I would be replacing everything going into this. Each cup & cone have to be ordered separately.

This is what I came up with: (all timken #s) pinion, outer cone HM89443. pinion, outer, cup HM89411. pinion, inner, cone NP576375. pinion, inner, cup NP434567. PLEASE check these numbers for your project.

Thats all for tonight

 

Make sure you install a new crush collar on the pinion and set the bearing preload properly. If you go too tight you will have to take it apart and replace the crush collar again. Do not loosen the pinion nut to back off on the preload. You will need a beam or dial style torque wrench to measure the bearing preload. The spec is 16-29 in-lbs while turning the pinion. It might take a little more to get it turning. I always coat the new bearings with gear oil. Good luck

 

thanx longbed! I have 3 crush collar/sleeves on hand the 1 thing I regret is not having a dial torque wrench. I have read and been instructed by a mechanic and a buddy on how to do it with a click type wrench. My buddy has done 2 rebuilds with this method. One with about 3k the other with 37k miles on the rebuild. As the canooks say "NO WORRIES" YET!!! I'm still trying to locate one to borrow but no luck so far.

The specks I found on this diff. say 15-19 inch pounds of preload. Thats from USA Gear and West Coast Diff.s. Is that preload spec on a 9.75 LS? I want to be sure I get it correct.

 

Back to the lack of a dial or beam style torque wrench. I finally went out to the garage anne but a 1/2" bolt in the vise. then used a new nylock nut and my click torque wrench to do a few tests. My torque wrench will not work accurately at such low settings din't click at all most of the time. I had been searching for several days and just did not want to invest $200 into something I might use twice in my lifetime. Finally I found the "PARK TOOL TW-1 and the SK TOOL 74006". The pictures aren't great but it looks like it reads in 2.5 in. lbs., starts at 0 and goes up to 60. Perfect for this application and inexpensive. I would love to have a nice $200 dial wrench, maybe later. They"re mostly used to work on bikes. If I had known it earlier, I could have called all the (many) bike shops in my area and bought one locally. At this point in the game I couldn't gamble. I bought it (park tool) online for $60 and this includes overnight shipping. Should have it Friday!

 

I got those preload specs directly from the Ford workshop manual for 2005 f150 with 9.75 rear.

 

Gotta hand it to you, Bob, for taking on this job. I hope it works out for you, but be prepared for reality. Most likely the rear will run better but I would expect some gear noise. Usually manifested as a 'whine' at certain speeds. You can live with that as long as its not a growl at all speeds. The steel particles in the oil had to affect the ring and pinion set-up.