Community,
I apologize in advance if I'm doing something wrong here. I tried to find tech support on the Ford 9" rear end first.
Anyhoo, I am a passionate mechanic by hobby and good at it in what little free time I have; but also maintain a full-time job, am single and raising a 2 & 4 year-old by myself; so I really don't have the time to do all the tedious shimming/backlash checking/trial and error chunk stuff. Since my outer-axle wheel bearings are shot...can I assume all the pinion/carrier bearings are shot as well? I had what looked like 'Mississippi Mud' coming out of the diff when I loosened the chunk.
I also had play from one wheel to the other.. Before draining any fluid or removing old drums, I lifted the rear of the vehicle and when I spun one wheel, I had about 1/2" play before the other wheel began spinning in the same direction as the one I was spinning. Is this play normal?(my 5.9L ZJ only has about 1/8" to 1/4"of play)... or is the diff shot??
I know I can rebuild this chunk with all new bearings and inspect for cracking and wear in all the gears etc... but having never done it before I fear it will take me forever-and-a-day to get it back together and running again. Is there anyone has done this successfully before, and anywhere near Denver/Englewood, COLORADO ...who can walk me through the process in person//show me the path// for beer LOL ..or recommend an affordable shop? Now that I've dropped the whole axle housing, I don't want to put it back together until I know it's right. Then can move on to other things like the tranny who won't shift to 3rd until it's warm.
Thanks in advance for any help/advice,
Henry
I apologize in advance if I'm doing something wrong here. I tried to find tech support on the Ford 9" rear end first.
Anyhoo, I am a passionate mechanic by hobby and good at it in what little free time I have; but also maintain a full-time job, am single and raising a 2 & 4 year-old by myself; so I really don't have the time to do all the tedious shimming/backlash checking/trial and error chunk stuff. Since my outer-axle wheel bearings are shot...can I assume all the pinion/carrier bearings are shot as well? I had what looked like 'Mississippi Mud' coming out of the diff when I loosened the chunk.
I also had play from one wheel to the other.. Before draining any fluid or removing old drums, I lifted the rear of the vehicle and when I spun one wheel, I had about 1/2" play before the other wheel began spinning in the same direction as the one I was spinning. Is this play normal?(my 5.9L ZJ only has about 1/8" to 1/4"of play)... or is the diff shot??
I know I can rebuild this chunk with all new bearings and inspect for cracking and wear in all the gears etc... but having never done it before I fear it will take me forever-and-a-day to get it back together and running again. Is there anyone has done this successfully before, and anywhere near Denver/Englewood, COLORADO ...who can walk me through the process in person//show me the path// for beer LOL ..or recommend an affordable shop? Now that I've dropped the whole axle housing, I don't want to put it back together until I know it's right. Then can move on to other things like the tranny who won't shift to 3rd until it's warm.
Thanks in advance for any help/advice,
Henry
