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Finally pulled the rear end out of the 63 last night. Pulled off rear cover to find missing snap ring, it was nowhere to be found. The driver's side yoke still had its ring. The rear is correct for the car; the ring gear is a GM piece the correct ratio, neither yoke looks to be newer than the other. The passenger yoke looks to be in good shape. As there were no bad noises before the discovery, I plan to replace the side yoke seals install 2 new snap rings, clean everything and reinstall (new fluid and additive of course). Did I miss anything?
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Re: Rear End Problem Update
Gary --- You may want to also consider changing the front pinion seal, while you've got the diff out of the car. If it still has the original seal, even if it is not now leaking, there is a chance that when you refill the unit and add the posi friction reducer, that the formulation of the new lubes will not be compatible with the old rubber technology. In other words, fresh fluid(s) may cause an old seal to START leaking. Otherwise, it sounds like you've touched all the bases. Also, not sure if '63 ring gears had the date and part # stamped on them, but now is a good time to document this. -
Re: Rear End Problem Update
Gary, I totally agree with Wayne! As long as the differential is out, it would be a waste of time if you didn't replace all of the seals. This an excellent opportunity to do this. I pulled my differential last fall because I assumed that I had a problem similar to yours (mine had a loose, wandering feeling on the highway). However, the internal workings were in good shape. I went ahead with a total rebuild however, knowing that the bearings, clutch pack, seals, etc were most likely original. The rebuild tightened up my slightly loose half shafts and the car now corners and handles like a new 34 year old car. GaryComment
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Re: Rear End Problem Update
Is changing the pinion seal just a matter of removing the yoke, changing the seal and retorqueing the nut? There is a number on the ring gear did not write it down. Thanks for the help GComment
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Re: Rear End Problem Update
Get a new crush sleeve with that seal. - DaveComment
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Re: Rear End Problem Update
if you do not have a torque multiplier or one hell of a strong air gun don't attempt to change the crush collar mark the pinion,nut and the yoke with a paint line take off the nut and yoke change the seal and put every thing back on the way it came off them tighten the nut till you can feel the resistance of the crush collar and retightento your painted markComment
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Re: Rear End Problem Update
How far do you take the "while it is out of the car" reason for a rebuild? I am in the middle of frame-off to a '66 coupe so the rear is out of the car. The car has 22K original miles. The rear end had a little fluid around the bottom of the cover (I found that the drain plug had no o-ring on it) so I took off the cover and drained the old fluid and put on a new cover seal and a plug o-ring. There were no leaks around side yokes or pinion, it wass very quiet in use and inside was quite clean with no missing parts or noticeable wear of any kind. Very little (1/32 maybe) axial play, no radial play in side yokes.
Would you suggest that I have this rebuilt while out of the car? I am planning to use synthetic gear lube and friction modifier when I refill it.
Thanks, LarryComment
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Re: Rear End Problem Update
Stephen's procedure is correct, however, a more accurate way is to install a new crush sleeve and then tighten the nut until you obtain the proper pinion bearing preload, which you can measure with a 50 in-lb torque wrench. Also, it's a good idea to check the backlash and reshim the case if necessary, then verify the total preload. Beyond this, if you have a posi case, it's probably worn. Did you check the posi preload on the car before you took it apart? Looks like I just suggested a complete overhaul. The other philosophy is: "if it works, don't fix it." Your choice.
Regarding the snap ring, if we think this is the original rear, is it possible the snap ring was not installed at the plant? I doubt it. Sixty-three rear ends were problematic, and I would bet that this diff has been worked on sometime in the last 37 years.
DukeComment
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Re: Rear End Problem Update
The yoke end play you mention probably exceeds specs and may be indicative of clutch pack wear. Check the specs is the service manual, but if the posi preload is okay and you don't plan on driving the car much, maybe it's best to use the "if it works, don't fix it philosophy".
DukeComment
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Re: Rear End Problem Update
the pocedure I was talking about is mainly for in the car service if on the overhaul you put in a new crush good luck crushing it with out the right tools if you do crush the collar you want approx 20-25 inch pound drag with new bearings and 15-20 with servicable used bearings if the pinion has been out good idea to reset backlash even more so with new carrier bearingsComment
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Re: Rear End Problem Update
Larry, even though there wasn't any indicated wear in my differential, it still had a bit of play. A complete rebuild, including the clutch pack, resulted in a wonderfully balanced car that was fun again to drive. No more loose rear end feelings.Comment
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