So Good news / Bad news. I pulled the diff a few weeks ago and finally
cracked it open yesterday. I bet the last time the inside of the case saw
daylight was 1969. There was at least 36 years of crud on the outside of
the case. I did manage to find the vent and unearth the jiggle pin from the
oil sand. Timken bearings through-out. Crown and pinion look okay. We
managed to pry (prise?) the carrier out without a case spreader. Spider
gears and shaft are shot. Funky leather pionion seal, Is this 1936 or 2006?
Maybe I should buy a Miata? - Nah!
I was completely blown away by the force required to press out the axle
shafts from the drive flanges. Learning at least 1 lesson from the hub
episode, we wrapped the work in towels to prevent flying parts. At 18 tons,
my brother-in-law said "I am not taking it to 20. Either it comes out at 19
or it doesn't come out."
At 19 tons - KABANG!- the axle shaft separated from the driven flange. I
just about jumped out of my skin it was so loud and scary. Looking in the
boar of the flange, it seems like they pressed it in fast and dry at the
factory and it looked like it microwelded. We bent the driven flange because
we used the wrong side of the gear puller. Pressing it back into shape was
not too hard. We polished the boar out with a stone and got it to look
pretty decent.
Pretty much the same story with the 2nd except that we used the flat side of
the gear puller and we did not bend the flange. KABANG at 17 tons, except
this time the pressure gauge jumped a few teeth on the gears and now we have
a 6 ton off-set on the press gauge. My brother-in-law is irritated.
No wonder they get so much for a rebuild.
Brought the diff case to the machine shop for hot tanking and to drill in a
case drain. Plenty to sand blast and paint this week. Got the wife's curtin
rods up on Sunday so I should be in the clear!
Progress!
John Cyg
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