well folks this is what i found when i dug deeper into the diff, spider gears are destroyed and one of the side gears are showing damage. i didnt have to pull the carrier yet, i think i can do everything without having to. that way i dont have to set backlash correct? anyways going to have to order some new parts again lool. so that leads me to my next question when ordering these gears, i need to order specific gears right??

theres no tag on the axle so i cannot confirm the gearing, any other way i can find out ?

 

The damage on the carrier is kind of bad. But I'm not sure it would affect anything when all new parts are in.. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm also on a budget and don't wanna break the bank getting this thing back on the road

 

You should be able to get away with just rebuilding it....... If it gives you any more trouble though, think I would just replace it with a better unit. Take a look at how much you are going to have to spend to get it fixed, then compare that with the price of a detroit true-track.

 

So here's my donor axle I picked up, sending the clutch pack back most likely. My original plan was to just take all the guts out and put in my carrier. But I'm torn for what to do, if I put the whole carrier in from the donor then I have to get a gauge and set backlash (I don't know how to so I'll have to learn) or I just toss the guts in my carrier that's slightly damaged in the axle thats in the truck already.

I personal think its easiest to toss the guts in my existing carrier because I don't see the damage being a problem. Maybe I'm wrong could use some advice !! Thanks

 

Why would you put used parts in the diff? Really not a good idea... Likely you will find yourself right back in the same boat in the not-so-distant future. The gears, sure, I could see that, but, definitely replace the clutches/steels/clips.

Is that axle the same gear ratio as yours? If so, might just install the whole axle...... skip moving parts from one to the other.

 

The donor axle is missing parts so that's why I'm swapping everything over. What I ended up doing last night was pulling the carrier in swapping Rings over to the donor carrier. Tomorrow I'll be getting a dial indicator to set backlash. But I'll have to do some reading up so I understand how to do it properly. Any advice on setting backlash or just read Till i understand?

 

Read a LOT.

I think the 9.25's make it fairly easy to adjust..... might need the cool special tool, or not.

 

If you are familiar with back lash you can do it with out a gauge but you are still guessing what the actually reading is. As long as you don't have to much or not enough you'll be ok. When you put the bearing caps in don't tighten them down! Just enough to hold everything in place. Then after you are done tighten them down. You need to do this so you can adjust the carrier. I think they sell a spanner for the adjusters but you can use a punch.

 

I just welded a nut on the end of the pipe to adjust. Now I've installed everything and check and I'm sitting at 0.003. so I have to adjust more. From what I read it needs to be in between 0.004 to 0.010 ? If so I would have to push the diff towards the drivers side a very small amount correct ?

 

Yep, a VERY small amount.