The Money pit strikes again need help! with Rearend

[Navy_chief]

Guys,
It keeps getting better and better:-[ I just pulled the 3rd member after finding metal shavings in the axle tube and low and behold lookie lookie what the carrier has done ever see this before it is cracked all the way around?

Here are the numbers off the 3rd member:

Issues:

1. My dilema I will have to either pay somebody to rebuild this for me or I can do it myself?

2. The problem with rebuilding it myself Is I have never done anything like this before is it hard do I need specific tools for rebuilding it?

3. I priced out the stuff and it looks like for about $200 I can get the parts I need for the rebuild.

The data plate says it is a 3.50 rear how do I know if it is limited slip or posi and if for sure it is a 3.50?

Any help on this issue will be greatly appreciated.

 

[FindlayJeff]

Count the teeth to find out what gears you have I had to rebuild my third member not cause it cracked but it had wrong gears in it. I took it to a local shop had it back next day. It looks like my limited slip

 

[broncnaz]

Thats a limited slip carrier and its trash now. Its very common for them to break like that. I've done that myself with a little to much gas pedal and a second time just idling up a hill.. I ended up going with a currie billet steel clutch cover not sure if they still sell them or not but it will cost you probably $140 or so. best bet is to get a new carrier either open or a locker.
The 9in is the easiest diff to setup with a good manual you can do it your self with little more than a torque wrench and a dial indicator.
probably dont need new gears I've blown up 2 trac locks worse than that and was able to reuse the gears both times. As for verifing your gears count the teeth on the pinion and the ring gear and devide the numbers. That will give the ratio.
here's a couple of pics form the 1st and 2nd time I broke my trac loc. Pic on the left is from the second time. currie clutch cover held up fine and I reused the gears but the thridmember was toast.

 

[red hot71]

Thats very common on a trac-loc. While going thur mine in March the guy doing mine came up with another company that makes a billet cover cost $100 and it was a quality piece, Quick Performance ph#641-751-8060. Only thing I would question is the year of the posi you have, mine was a 71 so it was of the newer design,(I think they had 4 ears on the clutches)I don't know if that matters, enless you want to fix what you have.

 

[Navy_chief]

Thats very common on a trac-loc. While going thur mine in March the guy doing mine came up with another company that makes a billet cover cost $100 and it was a quality piece, Quick Performance ph#641-751-8060. Only thing I would question is the year of the posi you have, mine was a 71 so it was of the newer design,(I think they had 4 ears on the clutches)I don't know if that matters, enless you want to fix what you have.

Mine is a Jan 1971 production I have the Dana 44 up front. I want to keep what I have and fix it

 

[bax]

Yes thats a factory track lock that broke. yes if the gear is not beat up you can re use it. from the #s on the gear 42 10 thats a 4.11 gear. But divide the # of teeth on the ring and pinion to double check. If the pinion is OK dont bother to take it out or change it's set up. You can bolt the old gear on the new track lock and all you need to do is set your side to side clearance 6 to 10 thousandths. Very easy set up and yes you can do it. Not having to mess with the pinion means that more than half your set up is already done.

 

[Navy_chief]

Yes thats a factory track lock that broke. yes if the gear is not beat up you can re use it. from the #s on the gear 42 10 thats a 4.11 gear. But divide the # of teeth on the ring and pinion to double check. If the pinion is OK dont bother to take it out or change it's set up. You can bolt the old gear on the new track lock and all you need to do is set your side to side clearance 6 to 10 thousandths. Very easy set up and yes you can do it. Not having to mess with the pinion means that more than half your set up is already done.

The pinion bearing seems fine nice and tight may need a front seal on the ring it has a small chip out of a tooth. Where can I buy a new trac lock from that is not going to break the bank?

 

[73azbronco]

I think you can buff those cracks out?

 

[broncnaz]

other than finding a junkyard/craigslist trac loc your not going to get one cheap. other factor is finding a 28 spline unit. They usually run about $300 or more new and for that price well you may as well step up to something else.
I would find yourself another complete center section to run even if its a open diff then you can source the parts you need or decide what direction to go in.

Small chips out of a tooth are usually no big deal especailly if its on the outer edge where theres little actually contact.

 

[Monster Mike]

I think you can buff those cracks out?

thats how I fixed mine, works like a dream now! ;D

 

[markperry]

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/fbr/full.aspx?Page=66

 

[fmcpeters]

They are not hard to set up. There is alot of good information online look around, read through it and see if your comfortable with it.

 

[Broncorex]

Very common to break, unfortunately. Unless it was rebuilt at some point, the LS clutches were probably worn out and not locking. Depending on how you wheel and how much $ you want to spend, it could be a good time to upgrade to a 31 spline set up. I sourced a 1 race NASCAR chunk with a Detroit Locker (not your normal off the shelf type), thick FoMoCo ring and pinion with the ring gear bolts safety wired, my choice of ratio, and Daytona pinion support. Also had a 1350 yoke with pump pulley so I upgraded to 1350 yokes and u-joints on the front and rear driveshafts and did away with the cv joints. 1350's have almost twice as much usable angle ability and are much stronger. Upgrade to a 31 spline Moser or Strange axle . BTW, while the chunk is out, drill and tap the 9" housing for a flush mounted pipe thread drain plug. Now you're done with it and about bullit proof.

 

[broncnaz]

and your wallet is a whole lot lighter.

 

[Broncorex]

and your wallet is a whole lot lighter.

Hence the "how much $ do you want to spend". Forgot to mention the chunk was an "N" case. All told, it was less than $1000 ... and it probably won't break in my lifetime.

 

[broncnaz]

Understand that if you need to upgrade but he wants to "keep what he has" all he needs is a carrier wether its open or another trac loc. otherwise I would have suggest a list similar to what you have suggested.

 

[tinytim02]

Here's the link to the Quick Performance billet steel clutch cover:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/9-Fo...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item56460748fc

 

[broncnaz]

If you go with a new clutch cover I would also recommend ordering all new thrust washers for the side and spider gears. along with the new clutch pack and preload springs. You may want to pull it all apart before ordering anything just in case you need any other parts when I cracked my clutch cover the spider gears and one of the side gears were also damaged.

 

[Navy_chief]

Found one

Guys,
after driving 4 hours roundtrip we have a new buddy 71Thunder hooked me up with exactly what I needed a freshly rebuilt LS unit and one that my wallet could afford. Like stated this bronco is for my wife and I am just restoring it for her we wont be doing any rock crawling or anything like that maybe some deer/hog hunting with it and using it in the winter to get around other than that nothing crazy. Thanks so much for all the help and Suggestions.
Matt