Tired Old Rear
Well I got caught with the 'if I am doing this I might as well do this' syndrom.
In a effort to do my floor pans and clean up the bottom of the car I figured the best way to do that would be to remove the rear end. And since I had it out I should take advantage of the situation. This was a good opportunity to try and clean up the rear and maybe make it better.
I was disapointed to find out that my rear end is a 2.8, or at least I am pretty sure that it is now. For a long time I figured it was a 3.0. I wasn't to worried about it because I wanted to go with some 3.55 gears anyway. So the hunt was on. Some gears and a loc of some sort while I am at it.
After a long look I was coming up short on finding what I wanted for what I could afford. Then I got a little lucky. I found a brand new Powertrax loc by Richmond that had never been installed for $100. I jumped on that. I also picked up all new seals, new gear oil, and some tough black paint.
I was disapointed that I was not able to find an affordable set of gears at this time. Oh well, maybe another time.
It was not to hard to set up and in stall. I won't know if I did it right until after I get the car back on the road. Anyway when I got the center section back togther and cleaned up. I painted it up and it looked as good as if a pro did it.
After the center section was done I focused on the housing, axels, and odds and ends. Everything was cleaned up with a wire brush, primed and painted. I replaced a stud on the one axel and put on all new seals. I checked the bearings and they seemed to be in good shape so I left them. I hope that one doesn't come back to bit me in the butt. While I had all this apart I took it as a good time to clean up the rear brakes, the ebrake lines and all the hinges, brackets, etc that are under the car. It made the job bigger but I think it was worth it.
All back together. I put the wheels back on and was able to roll it back under the car. The lock feels tight and there is the 'test' clicks when it turns. I didn't have any gear oil in the rear at the time so the click was pretty loud. I hope it quiets down a bit with the gear oil in it. When I put this under the car I was able to add some nice new KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, 1.25" drop blocks, TractionMaster Shelby style under ride traction bars and a set of Subframe connectors.
Looks good doesn't it?
Its back in place and ready for action.