Rear end rebuild - research

Hey everyone,

I’ve been hearing rear end whine in my truck. 137k miles so most likely time for a time for a rebuild.

Has anyone done this themselves and have any pointers? This is the one thing I’ve never done.

Any easy way to check for clutch wear? Typical mileage they last?

A few videos / threads I found mentioned reusing the pinion shims resulted in the best alignment for them, since shims go to casing not gears.

Found the below videos for reference.

Nothing I’ve viewed seems difficult so wanted to check with some veterans for the nuances that may not show up in a vid.

Thanks in advance.

Rear End Rebuild

Rebuild pt 1
Rebuild pt 2

Rebuild vid 3

Anyone?

Planning on putting bearings in the oven and pinion gear in freezer to help with new bearing going on.

Will rent the clam shell style pullers to get them off.

Otherwise it seems easy... what am I missing? I’ve heard horror stories about rebuilding diffs.

Are ours easier since we have the adjusters and don’t have to shim the carrier also?

If you have to ask........this is 1 skill set you should not attempt.
Not trying to be an a** but wouldn't want an expensive failure for ya.

Have rebuilt a lot of axles, it's not something for the armature mechanic !! unless you have a factory service manual and a dial indicators set, torque wrenches and a lot of patience !!!!

Hi guys thanks for the feed back.
I am going to be doing this myself already ordered the rebuild kit.

The major thing I’ve heard from all my older mechanc friends applied to different style axles that have to be shimmed for left right adjustment to get the interface pattern low / high on the ring gear.

We don’t really have to worry about that since we have the adjusters, it can be set in vehicle without having to remove the carrier assembly repeatedly to adjust shims.

The only thing shimmed on this axle is the pinion gear to get heel / toe distance correct. A lot of people I see just reuse the oem shim for that. I’ll probably take a mic measurement and install a new shim of the same thickness.

Setting gear mesh isnt something I’m afraid of (mechanical engineering grad), just never done it before.

Keep ya’ll posted.

So started rebuilding my diff today.
Got the carrier and pinion out…
2 jaw puller didn’t work for getting the carrier bearings off. It just tore the case off one but didn’t move the inner sleeve,
so I’ll most likely buy a press and the clam style bearing splitter…

Thing that has me puzzled is… the carrier bearing races both look really good.

One has very minor pitting but otherwise pristine.

Haven’t pushed the pinion outer bearing and seal out yet so we’ll see if those races are what’s howling.

I replaced my outer axle bearings when I did my suspension rebuild ~ 20k miles ago so shouldn’t be those. But if the pinion bearings look good then I’ll pull the outers as well to at least check.

Clutch pack looks great even after 138k

This has been extremely straight forward so far.

Biggest hurdle has been the heat here in Phoenix (no garage) - every tool that you put down turns into lava, and just not having the right tools before I started.

I knowingly went into this thinking I’ll most likely end up having to buy a press or take the carrier / pinion to a shop to have the bearings pulled / pressed on.

Pinion nut is a 32mm 12 point.
An air hammer would be very helpful if you have one otherwise a mini sledge is a must to get the yoke and pinion out and in my case brake rotors off .

crackerjack1957 said:

If you have to ask........this is 1 skill set you should not attempt.

Click to expand...

Spoken like someone who dosent like buying new tools.

Black1500Ram said:

2 jaw puller didn’t work for getting the carrier bearings off.

Click to expand...

This is the one I bought. Ive used it over a dozen times now and works perfect https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B09GKBDF4B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also built myself a 20T press with a 100$ air jack...lol...

Setting these diff is a cakewalk compared to the dana 44/30s and GMs I do. Gears swap are dirt simple. the ones who say otherwise are either not mechanically inclined or mechanics trying to scare you on spending money for nothing.


So this is the perfect diff for your first gear swap. as you dont have to deal with shim packs.

Word of advice have 2 crush sleeves for your first time JIC

Admire your determination and courage to do this. I had same issue with a 142k mile rear end. Ended up buying a used axle assembly from junkyard with 50k on it for $750. I’m sure your cost is much less. Good luck getting it put back together and hope it is nice and quiet when done.