switching ring gears???
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 850
Likes: 14
From: Fayetteville, NC
switching ring gears???
ok...I found a center section for my truck that has the 3:50 ring gear (minus the pinion) for $37. I cleaned it up tonight and I noticed that some of the teeth on the ring gear are chipped and a few are bent. I took the pinion section out of another junked truck at the yard and that appears to be in good shape. I got the center section mainly for the housing. My housing is cracked and part of the inside that is supposed to surround the pilot bearing is missing. My ring gear looked fine when I looked at it the other day. My question is can I switch the ring gear from my rear end to the new one without having to worry about adjusting the backlash and drive angles?? Just take the bearing caps off and switch them basically... I read and printed the tech article from here on how to rebuild the center section but my problem is I don't have the specs or the dial calipers to do it with. 
So can I switch them or should I buy a new ring and pinion gear and have a shop rebuild it 
1978 F-150 flareside. Primitive by todays standards but she was a jaw dropper back then. :-staun
So can I switch them or should I buy a new ring and pinion gear and have a shop rebuild it 1978 F-150 flareside. Primitive by todays standards but she was a jaw dropper back then. :-staun
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,300
Likes: 0
From: Southwestern Michigan
switching ring gears???
You can adjust the amount of back lash with the nuts on each side of the carrier,these nuts are round and have holes in them for a "spanner wrench"just bend the locktab back and turn them both evenly.
evenly meaning, if you want the ring gear closer to the pinion,tighten the one behind the ring and loosen the one in front of the ring until you can feel just a little backlash. I did this to my truck when my housing broke(same place you described)that was 3 years ago and its still working.
kind of a backyard method not measuring it but it is working well.This is my snowplow truck, so it gets worked hard and the ring and pinion are still tight.
evenly meaning, if you want the ring gear closer to the pinion,tighten the one behind the ring and loosen the one in front of the ring until you can feel just a little backlash. I did this to my truck when my housing broke(same place you described)that was 3 years ago and its still working.
kind of a backyard method not measuring it but it is working well.This is my snowplow truck, so it gets worked hard and the ring and pinion are still tight.
