I'm putting an 8.8 rearend out of a 92 Linicon town car into my 62 F100.It is an open diff.I have a LSD out of an 04 Crown Vic if I put the ring from the 92 on the 04 carrier will this affect the pattern on the ring and pinion?The side bearings look the same and the ring and pinion will still be matched.Would I use the side bearing shims from the 92? Any advice would be welcomed. THANKS Larry

 

I'm not real familiar with anything that new but in general changing the carrier has the potential to alter your backlash. Pinion depth won't be an issue because it'll still be in the 92 housing, but the new carrier could put your ring gear closer to or farther from the pinion, and there goes the backlash.

A dial indicator is all you need to set backlash tho. Line it up perpindicular to the ring gear and look for .008 to .010 of back and forth play. That's the backlash.

A lot of Ford's (8's, 9's, Pinto's) have threaded collars to move the ring gear back and forth, they're dead easy. But as long as your shims are outside the bearings you should be able to do the same.

The Dana 60 in my 65 F250 has the shims inboard of the pressed on bearings so I had to take it to a pro. After some haggling I got that one done for $40 but I set the pinion depth myself first.

Good Luck if ya give it a shot.

 

Thank You pntrbl,I will give it a try.I take it the backlash is adjusted by changing the shim thickness on the side bearings? Do I need to do a drive and coast pattern if so what are you using to mark the ring gear with? Thank You Larry

 

Right. As you move the carrier back and forth with the shims the ring gear gets deeper into or farther away from the pinion gear. When it's in to the correct depth you should have .008 to .010 of play. I think that's to compensate for when the gears get warmed up and expand.

A good way to check the pattern is to coat a section, or the whole thing for that matter, with white grease. You should see an oval shape centered in each tooth. That's primarily a function of pinion depth tho so you should be OK on that. Never hurts to look tho.

FWIW, I was racing Pinto's awhile back and only had one spool to lock up the rear end which meant switching the carrier every time I switched gears. Being basically lazy and getting tired of doing the same thing over and over again, I got to where I was just eyeballing the backlash. Long as it had a click-click ....

But I wouldn't recommend that for your truck! You get a load in it or tow something up a hill and them gears are gonna get hot. You need to know the .008 to .010 is in there and a dial indicator is the only way to be sure.

 

Thanks for all the info.I tried the LSD with the old shims and it would bind in a couple of places.I got this out of a wrecked 04 crown vic.One axle was really bent and I thought the carrier might be ok.I think I was wrong so I went back to the open diff.
Thanks for the help. Larry