I have a bad ring & pinion on my 72. I'm no Jessie James or Chip Foose but I'm not to bad when it comes to turning wrenches. I've done some engine & trans swapsin the past. I'd like to take on the job of removing my rear, sending it out to have the ring & pinion repaired and then reinstalling it myself. On a 1-10 how difficult would this job be. Is there anything that I should look out for? I'm in the Gaithersburg, Maryland area.

Greg

 

I'm no machanic either. But was able to do the wifes 78. It was quite easy. The install was a bit harder need 4 hands. If you are taking the strut rods out, this could be a real problem. Lots of BF hammer time. :cheers:

 

Is there someone local who can rebuild it for you? I have seen prices to rebuild them less then $200. Ask around the local mechanics first.

Not hard but why not use someone who does it everyday and use there experience. I had mine out twice in the last six months and it was no fun. Make sure you check the YOKE end play while it is apart. Yokes tend to wear out.


[Modified by stingry, 9:45 AM 4/9/2004]

 

Removing it depends on how much rust you have on the car. If there's not much and everythign comes apart it's not too bad.


Remove the exhaust

spare tire carrier

mark the posistion of the strut rods inthe bracket so you can put them back there for alignment

Disconnect the drive shaft- I do it at the differential, others do it at the tranny and drop it with the diff.

remove the rear spring

disconnect the 1/2 shaft joints at the diff, I remove them altogether to ck the joints.

place a jack just under the diff about 1/2" space. remove the bolts form the cross member from each side. Use a pry bar or puller to break the cross member loose from the frame and until it drops on the jack. Slowly lower it out of the car.

Drain it and remove the rear cover for a look at the side yokes.

A general rebuild runs about $500 from a vette shop. They replace the bearings,seals,posi clutches, but this does not include yokes or gears if needed.

If you have access to a press and some measuring tools you can do the job yourself. It will take time but is "doable" I walked a couple of guys through it so let me know if you have any questions.

Good luck,
Gary

 

It sounds more like you asking just about how difficult it is removing the carrier housing so that you can have it worked on. If that's the case, there's nothing particularly difficult about it as long as all the bolts come out and nothing sticks. It does take some time and there is some grunt work in it but it;s just some nuts and bolts.

Things to consider:

- Can't come down until the rear of the exhaust gets moved out of the way
- Remove the entire spare tire assembly but be prepared for the two pivot bolts to be rusted in place.
- Removing the stut/shock mount from the spindle support can be very diffucult due to rust. Don't try this without first getting the $10 tool that threads onto the stut mount.
- Removing the diff mount cross member can be difficult due to rust at both the bolt and the mount hats. Advise to soak the bolts both top and bottom before you try removal. You might want to invest another $10 at Lowes for a good pry bar.
- Once you disconnect the drivshaft and halfshafts you can remove the rear spring assembly. This, again, can be difficult with rusty bolts.
- Remove the front diff mount and keep everything in order.
- After you have isolated the suspension from the differential, put a floor jack under the crossmember, unbolt the crossmember and pry the member off the frame. It's going to be tight so be prepared for it to "pop" loose. Some are easier than others. It is heavy with the differential bolted to it, which is why you need a floor jack.
- Once you have the differential/crossmember out you can remove the four bolts that hold the rear cover to the crossmember, again there could be some rust holding the bolts

As you can read, just about everything has a complexity based upon rust.

 

Just dropped mine out the other day. Lots of PB Blaster Baby! :yesnod:

Just adding that I just dissconnected the strut rods from the inner mount, and left the shock and mount on to hold up the trailing arm while everything is out.