Refreshed my 8.8

BigRob · #1 July 6th, 2012, 01:45 PM

Started hearing a growl coming from the rear end a while back... took it to my buddys place and started digging in.
Turns out my pinion bearing was worn and so was my pass side axle. My ring and pinion showed normal wear. So I got a master kit bearings and seals and replaced them all. I still have to locate a 31 spline ps axle.\
Once everything was buttoned up, we noticed a slight vibration coming from the rear drive shaft. We took that out and noticed the u-joint werent rotating smoothly... which we assume is what caused the pinion bearing to out. So, im the hunt for rear drive shaft or just replace the u-joints...

Our friend whos an actual mechanic did the work...

New bearings and seals

**Booba5185** · #2 July 6th, 2012, 01:58 PM

Looks good, but why is there only 2 clutches in your limited slip carrier? You could bump it up to 3 which is stock or 4 which is a higher performance version, which I did and love, so far.

BigRob · #3 July 6th, 2012, 02:56 PM

hmm.. dunno...

**Booba5185** · #4 July 6th, 2012, 04:15 PM

Here's a pic of mine when I had three clutches, if you want more information on the upgrade, just let me know. You don't have to remove the carrier again, and you need no special tools other than a pair of needle nose vice grips and a socket set.

**BigBlue79** · #5 July 6th, 2012, 04:28 PM

Good luck with the u-joints in the driveshaft, those are fun, still have to do mine in my bronco after I get the engine back together..

**Booba5185** · #6 July 6th, 2012, 04:29 PM

Here's a better pic of the three clutches:

BigRob · #7 July 6th, 2012, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Booba5185

Here's a pic of mine when I had three clutches, if you want more information on the upgrade, just let me know. You don't have to remove the carrier again, and you need no special tools other than a pair of needle nose vice grips and a socket set.

Yeah, send me the instructions....
Thanks!

**Booba5185** · #8 July 6th, 2012, 07:12 PM

I'll just do it in here, these are not my picutres. Order this kit: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/FMS-M-4700-B/
Tools needed:
Standard socket set
Needle nose vice grips
Digital caliper
New gear oil

Before anything, soak the new clutches in oil for a few hourse before installation, overnight is best.

Support the rear of the truck under jackstands, and remove rear wheels and drums. Remember to chaulk the front tires so you don't have a truck fall on you and die. I also removed the spare so there'd be more room to work.

Remove the differential cover, be ready for a mess. Shift the transmission into neutral, so you can turn the drive shaft by hand, and turn it until you see the 5\16" bolt that holds the center pin in.

Once the 5\16" bolt is removed, go ahead and remove the center pin. I rotated the carrier (by turning the driveshaft) until the center pin was facing me, then reach around to the front of the carrier and pushed the centerpin out enough to where I could get ahold of it and pulled it out.

Without the center pin in there, you have room to push the axle shafts inward. Go over to the passenger side and push the axle shaft (thing with the lugs on it) towards the center of the truck. Go back under the truck and you will see the axle shaft pushed in, and a C clip on the end of it. Remove said C-clip. go back out the passenger side and pull outward on the axle, but do not remove it (removing it will most likely damage the seal). Only pull the axle out about a foot, if that, when you pull it out you will feel the axle disengage from the carrier.
Axles pushed in:

Then after removing the C-clips, pull the axles back out:

At this point, when you look into the carrier, you will see all the gears (duh), and the S spring in the middle, nothing else. It is now time to remove your S-spring. It is removed with a hammer and a soft(ish) object, a block of wood, brass punch, etc. Rotate the driveshaft until you are looking directly at the S-Spring, and then begin to tap on it lightly with your punch\hammer combination. It won't take much to remove it.

So with the S-spring gone, it is time to remove the planetary gears. The planetary gears are the gears on the top\bottom of the carrier. The center pin used to go through then when it was installed. Removing them is kinda hard to explain, but not hard to do. Go back out to the driver or passenger side, and push the axle shaft back in. Put the transmission in Park or Drive, either will work. Get under the truck and make sure you see the axleshaft pushed all the way in (where the S spring used to be). Then have a helper turn the axleshaft while you are under the truck, and the planetary gears will begin to rotate out of the carrier. The planetary gears will have thrust washers on them, so be sure to keep them with correct gears. Here's a pic with the planetarys removed and the S-spring removed:

With all that removed, have a helper pull the axle out, and push it back in. This will push the spider gears inward, so you can remove them by hand. Do the passenger side first, the driver side will not have room to come out until the passenger is removed.

You are done under the truck for awhile.
Remove the clutch pack from the spider gears, and use your calipar to measure it. Mine was .645" on one side and .640" on the other. You'll also notice the stock order\configuration of the clutchs is:
Side Gear-Clutch-Steel-Steel-Clutch-Steel-Steel-Clutch-Shim-Carrier
A performace upgrade is to arrange change the order to:
Side gear-clutch-steel-clutch-steel-clutch-steel-flipped reused clutch-shim
This will give you an extra clutch on each side at the expense of a steel.
Once you have the configuration you want to use, measure the new clutches with your caliper, and use the provided shims to reach .010" more that you measured, so in my case they both measured .655". I don't remember the size of the shim I had to use, but the shims themselves are etched with the size they are, so I'm sure you can figure it out.

Now that you have your clutch packs assembled, go ahead and put them back on the spider gears, and get back under you truck. Insert the spider gears back into the carrier, remember driver side first, then Passenger side. Basically, you are back to this point, but with new clutches:

Now the only tricky part of whats left. Getting the planetary gears back in. Put the car in gear\park, and hold the spider gear in place while a helper slides an axle back in. Put one planetary gear anywhere on the side gears and slide the side the pin through it. Hold this with on hand and slide the other planetary gear on the side pin. Now the pin is keeping the planetaries 180 degrees apart like in the picture. Have the helper turn the axle until the center pin hits the carrier, also like in the picture. Remove the center pin while holding the planetary gears in place, then hold the thrust washers on the planetary gears while the helper VERY SLOWLY turns the axle until the planetary gears are in their stock position watch your fingers on that plast part, you might get a pinch.

Have the helper pull the axle back out (again, not all the way), and get ready for the fun part, putting the S-spring in, this is the method that worked for me:

With the S-spring installed, it is time to reinstall the axles. Have the helper goto one side, push the axle in and then you put the C-clip on that side, then have them goto the other side and repeat. Both axles are reinstalled, and have their C-clips in.

After that, install the center pin for the final time, and put the NEW (supplied in kit) 5\16" bolt into the carrier to hold the center pin. Torque bolt to 15 foot pounds.

Reinstall diff cover and fill with fluid, check for leaks. The kit also comes with a friction modifier that not only REALLY stinks, but it is required with these limited slip differentials. Pour it in, just like the reast of the fluid, then put the drums back on, and the wheels, etc.