Gear swap by a friend

PeTr0 · 04-29-2001, 11:04 PM

A friend of mine is looking to open his own shop. Right now he works out of his garage and is trying to start up a car club. I help him out and he says that if i buy the parts he will install some 3.55's in my rearend for free. I know this is a complicated job and i dont want my car being messed up. He says he knows what he is doing..should i let him do it...i cant afford it otherwise...

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Red 1993 Gt- flowmasters,BBK Shortie Headers, BBK Hi-Flow H-Pipe, BBK cold air induction w/K&N, Pro 5.0 shifer, 130 amp alt., underdrives,pioneer cd player and kicker component speakers, Kenwood Excelon amp, 2 12" subs in the hatch,firehawk sz50 all around, timing bumped to 13 deg., ADS Superchip, and mobil 1 oil lubing the 302.

smokedchevy · 04-30-2001, 01:21 AM

I hope he knows what he is doing! If it's set up wrong it could cause premature failure and it'll be louder than your stereo. Not to mention he needs an impact gun with about 300ft lbs of torque to crush the nut.

jimberg · 04-30-2001, 04:08 AM

I just got finished swapping in gears and rebuilding the traction-lok by myself. A friend loaned me a tool for measuring pinion depth. What I found was that if you use Ford gears you can pretty much reuse the old shims and every thing will fall into place. A mechanic about to open his own shop should have no problem installing them. If he doesn't try to tweak the gears to be more for competition or something, you shouldn't have a problem. My new gears are as quiet as the old ones.

You should, of course, verify all of the measurements and use marking compound to verify the gear contact pattern. Mine were all perfect with the old shims, but results may vary.

As an aside, you should not tighten the pinion nut with an impact wrench. If you tighten too far, you're screwed and have to start over with another crush sleeve. It's better to just use a breaker bar with a cheater pipe and something to hold the pinion flange while you tighten. I just took a 3' length of steel with two holes drilled in it. One hole has bolt with the head cut off that I used to stick through one of the holes on the pinion flange, and the other one I just put one of the drive shaft bolts through and screwed into the flange. It held great for removing and tightening the pinion nut. You can use an impact wrench for removing the nut, of course.

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351W 89 Mustang GT Convertible

[This message has been edited by jimberg (edited 04-30-2001).]

2FastLX · 04-30-2001, 07:03 AM

We just used a half inch drive Craftsman breaker bar for doing mine. My brother found the instruction over in the Corral's tech section and follwed them. He did his and they are quiet so I let him do mine as well. He used marking dye, and indicator, an inch pound torque wrench, etc for all the fine adjustments. He used Ford gears in his too but I think he said he had to get new shims for his.

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Too much to list. Best ET on the car so far with stock 2.73 gears - 13.73@102mph

Indiana Stangers Association
Buy your parts here
ICQ# 42269241

Mean50 · 04-30-2001, 10:23 AM

The swap is pretty simple, I have changed mine several times and I have installed one for a friend. Make sure after it is all put together and check the backlash. You do this with a special tool. It should be between .010 and .020. Make sure to add the additive for your differential.

------------------
89 LX Coupe
306, 10:1 compression, Holley Heads, Intake, and Cam package, 70 mm Throttle body and Mass Air, 30 lb injectors, 255 lph fuel pump, 1 5/8" full length headers, Flowmaster 2 1/2" American Thunder Cat back system, Centerforce dual friction clutch, 4.10 gears
50-175 hp Nitrous Works kit, 5" Auto Meter Shift Light

jimberg · 04-30-2001, 10:43 AM

Backlash should be from .006 to .012 inches.

------------------
351W 89 Mustang GT Convertible

04-29-2001, 11:04 PM	#1
PeTr0 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 1999 Location: Chicago, IL, USA Posts: 286	Gear swap by a friend A friend of mine is looking to open his own shop. Right now he works out of his garage and is trying to start up a car club. I help him out and he says that if i buy the parts he will install some 3.55's in my rearend for free. I know this is a complicated job and i dont want my car being messed up. He says he knows what he is doing..should i let him do it...i cant afford it otherwise... ------------------ Red 1993 Gt- flowmasters,BBK Shortie Headers, BBK Hi-Flow H-Pipe, BBK cold air induction w/K&N, Pro 5.0 shifer, 130 amp alt., underdrives,pioneer cd player and kicker component speakers, Kenwood Excelon amp, 2 12" subs in the hatch,firehawk sz50 all around, timing bumped to 13 deg., ADS Superchip, and mobil 1 oil lubing the 302.

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04-30-2001, 01:21 AM	#2
smokedchevy Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: ventura,CA Posts: 438	I hope he knows what he is doing! If it's set up wrong it could cause premature failure and it'll be louder than your stereo. Not to mention he needs an impact gun with about 300ft lbs of torque to crush the nut.

04-30-2001, 04:08 AM	#3
jimberg Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1998 Location: Rogers, MN Posts: 2,089	I just got finished swapping in gears and rebuilding the traction-lok by myself. A friend loaned me a tool for measuring pinion depth. What I found was that if you use Ford gears you can pretty much reuse the old shims and every thing will fall into place. A mechanic about to open his own shop should have no problem installing them. If he doesn't try to tweak the gears to be more for competition or something, you shouldn't have a problem. My new gears are as quiet as the old ones. You should, of course, verify all of the measurements and use marking compound to verify the gear contact pattern. Mine were all perfect with the old shims, but results may vary. As an aside, you should not tighten the pinion nut with an impact wrench. If you tighten too far, you're screwed and have to start over with another crush sleeve. It's better to just use a breaker bar with a cheater pipe and something to hold the pinion flange while you tighten. I just took a 3' length of steel with two holes drilled in it. One hole has bolt with the head cut off that I used to stick through one of the holes on the pinion flange, and the other one I just put one of the drive shaft bolts through and screwed into the flange. It held great for removing and tightening the pinion nut. You can use an impact wrench for removing the nut, of course. ------------------ 351W 89 Mustang GT Convertible [This message has been edited by jimberg (edited 04-30-2001).]

04-30-2001, 07:03 AM	#4
2FastLX The Photoshop Guru Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Mecca, Indiana Posts: 1,419	We just used a half inch drive Craftsman breaker bar for doing mine. My brother found the instruction over in the Corral's tech section and follwed them. He did his and they are quiet so I let him do mine as well. He used marking dye, and indicator, an inch pound torque wrench, etc for all the fine adjustments. He used Ford gears in his too but I think he said he had to get new shims for his. ------------------ Too much to list. Best ET on the car so far with stock 2.73 gears - 13.73@102mph Indiana Stangers Association Buy your parts here ICQ# 42269241

04-30-2001, 10:23 AM	#5
Mean50 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Virginia Posts: 118	The swap is pretty simple, I have changed mine several times and I have installed one for a friend. Make sure after it is all put together and check the backlash. You do this with a special tool. It should be between .010 and .020. Make sure to add the additive for your differential. ------------------ 89 LX Coupe 306, 10:1 compression, Holley Heads, Intake, and Cam package, 70 mm Throttle body and Mass Air, 30 lb injectors, 255 lph fuel pump, 1 5/8" full length headers, Flowmaster 2 1/2" American Thunder Cat back system, Centerforce dual friction clutch, 4.10 gears 50-175 hp Nitrous Works kit, 5" Auto Meter Shift Light

04-30-2001, 10:43 AM	#6
jimberg Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1998 Location: Rogers, MN Posts: 2,089	Backlash should be from .006 to .012 inches. ------------------ 351W 89 Mustang GT Convertible