1992 Bronco - Blown Spider Gears

Hello,

I started noticing a gear oil smell following my Bronco around everywhere it went. So I pulled it in the garage thinking I needed to change a seal in the rearend or something when I found a hole in the rearend pan from the inside out! I took the pan off and found that it shattered one of the spider gears.

It is an 8.8" with 31 spline axles and the factory posi carrier.

The ring and pinion look to be undamaged.

When I replace the spider gears, is there shimming and measuring that needs to be done like needs to be done with the ring and pinion?

When I took it apart the center spider gears had a curved fitted washer behind them, and the side gears had the clutch packs behind them.

Thanks for your help,

Brandon

If the pinion and carrier are having new bearings and races installed, you need to re-shim everything.
If your doing just the spider gears, the moulded washers set axel end play, (in and out).
You should check the backlash of the carrier while doing this. If the pinion or carrier need shims, the moulded washer shimming will change . They all work together.
I dont have the specs but I am sure someone will throw them in here.

Thanks for the reply.

I purchased a new posi carrier from Drive Train Specialist. I didn't realize that now I'm going to have to have my bearings pulled off the old one and pressed on to the new one. I asked if the new unit came with intructions and the sales guy laughed at me.

So here I sit with $320 worth of very interesting stuff, and a broken truck!

Here's what I'm thinking. There shouldn't anything wrong with the bearings. So I pull the old carrier out, and take it to a shop to have the press work done - take the bearings of the old carrier and have them pressed onto the new carrier.

Now, if I'm thinking correctly, the gear mesh pattern that is checked with the yellow paint is mostly controled by the pinion setup, and that isn't getting torn apart so that should stay good - I will check it though.

I need to check my back lash between the ring and pinion gears to make sure I'm not building a grenade.

I still need to find specs for bearing cap torque and backlash. I think that is it!

Thanks for your help.

I found a good write up on installation.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=144780


Am I out of my mind to use the old bearings? Is there a reason to mess with the pinion or can I just leave it alone?

Make sure when the press work is done that all shims are placed where they were origionally. Put a dollar bill between the ring gear and pinion gear run it through it should have small cuts about 1/2 inch long. Clean the bill of for normal use. Use the exact shims on the small gears. Wiggle the drive shaft and check for excessive play.