Ford 8.8 Tech questions

Sappersoldier88

Sappersoldier88

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2011
Location
Raleigh/Charlotte
Found an 8.8, 4.10's and a Limited Slip.

Im not a super mechanic by any means, and im not rich, soooo,

Im trying to clean up the inside as best as i can, My question is can I take the the carrier out to clean the houseing and set it back in without haveing an issue of getting the gears re installed?

or should i just take it to a shop and have them do it?

Thanks Ya'll.
 
Yes you can just pull the carrier out without upsetting anything.

Take a center punch and put one dot on the left carrier bearing cap towards the top and on the housing near by. Then center punch two marks on the right carrier cap near the top bolt and on the housing nearby. That way you can put the caps back on in their original locations (left/right, and top/bottom) cause they're machined to fit only a certain way.

Next, remove the caps and use a pry bar to bump the carrier out. Its kind of tight in there but you can usually bump it out with one or two prybars pulling against the "window" where you can see the spider gears.

BE CAREFUL: As it comes out there will be some shims (may just be one per side if its never been apart or could be multiple ones per side if someone has set up aftermarket gears) THE SHIMS NEED TO STAY ON THE SIDE THEY CAME FROM! Thats what sets the back lash on the ring gear.

When you go back in with it use some grease to hold the shims on the correct sides against the tubes and use a block of wood or rubber mallet against the carrier bearing races to tap them back in place, alternating from side to side to keep it going in smooth. Once its down flush just put the caps back on like you took them off by lining up your marks and torque the bolts to 80 to 85 ft/lbs and put your cover back on.
 
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