Understanding rear ends

surfsup · 01-05-2005, 07:38 AM

First guys I want to say thanks for all your help everyone here is great this is defiantly the best site around now my big question can you swap out just the center section that holds the gears on the 7.5 or 8.8 rears with out needing any special tools

Jeff Chambers · 01-05-2005, 07:53 AM

You mean the entire pumpkin (that center cast iron section that houses the pinion, ring gear, differential and bearings? If so, then no. The axle tubes are pressed in and then puddle welded. Not to mention that the 7.5 & 8.8 axle housings are not interchangeable. You can swap an entire 8.8 into a 7.5 vehicle, but the parts between the two aren't interchangeable.

surfsup · 01-05-2005, 08:35 AM

Sorry maybe I explained it wrong when you pull the cover off you see this section or carrier with the gears can I take that section out and put it into another housing as long it’s the same size housing

Jeff Chambers · 01-05-2005, 06:36 PM

If you pull the differential from a 7.5 and move it to another 7.5, yes....

However, every gear set is lapped as a set at the factory, so you can't take a ring gear from one 3.73:1 set and use it with the pinion from another 3.73:1 set and not expect it to be noisy, run rought, fail early, etc. The ring and pinion are a matched pair. You can however take a 7.5" ring & pinion set from one housing and put it in another 7.5" housing. Because of the machining tolerances though, you'll still have to check pinion depth, back lash, pattern and run-out just as you would with any other gear installation job.

Ieatcamaros · 01-05-2005, 06:41 PM

Like Jeff said, you can't interchange the two. But you can take the carrier and ring and pinion from one rear to another. You must keep the ring and pinion together because they are a matched set. You can't just replace the ring gear or the pinion. You don't want to do any of this at home unless you've done it before or know someone who can bail you out when you get stuck (like the mustang works site, lol) Setting the backlash is a tricky thing to do, especially when you tighten the pinion nut too much. There are several sites that have instructions on how to do this.

Just for a piece of mind.....
http://www.thedirtforum.com/differential.htm

Well put, Jeff. You hadn't posted when I began typing mine, lol.

surfsup · 01-06-2005, 04:20 PM

So what everyone is saying is i can’t really swap out the carrier set up with out have to do some recalibrating I’m better off swapping out the entire rear end

Ieatcamaros · 01-06-2005, 07:47 PM

Yes you are right.

01-05-2005, 07:38 AM	#1
surfsup Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: jersey Posts: 147	Understanding rear ends First guys I want to say thanks for all your help everyone here is great this is defiantly the best site around now my big question can you swap out just the center section that holds the gears on the 7.5 or 8.8 rears with out needing any special tools

01-05-2005, 07:53 AM	#2
Jeff Chambers Moderator Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Milan, OH Posts: 2,699	Re: Understanding rear ends You mean the entire pumpkin (that center cast iron section that houses the pinion, ring gear, differential and bearings? If so, then no. The axle tubes are pressed in and then puddle welded. Not to mention that the 7.5 & 8.8 axle housings are not interchangeable. You can swap an entire 8.8 into a 7.5 vehicle, but the parts between the two aren't interchangeable. __________________ Jeff Chambers 1990 Mustang GT 10.032 Seconds / 137.5 MPH 14-time Street Warrior World Record Setter CRT Performance 2001 Tropic Green Mustang GT - 12.181 / 113.2 MPH 2002 Ford F-250 Crew Cab 7.3l Power Stroke - 17.41@77.2 "There's nothing boring about a small block automatic shifting gears at 9400 rpm!"

01-05-2005, 08:35 AM	#3
surfsup Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: jersey Posts: 147	Re: Understanding rear ends Sorry maybe I explained it wrong when you pull the cover off you see this section or carrier with the gears can I take that section out and put it into another housing as long it’s the same size housing

01-05-2005, 06:36 PM	#4
Jeff Chambers Moderator Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Milan, OH Posts: 2,699	Re: Understanding rear ends If you pull the differential from a 7.5 and move it to another 7.5, yes.... However, every gear set is lapped as a set at the factory, so you can't take a ring gear from one 3.73:1 set and use it with the pinion from another 3.73:1 set and not expect it to be noisy, run rought, fail early, etc. The ring and pinion are a matched pair. You can however take a 7.5" ring & pinion set from one housing and put it in another 7.5" housing. Because of the machining tolerances though, you'll still have to check pinion depth, back lash, pattern and run-out just as you would with any other gear installation job. __________________ Jeff Chambers 1990 Mustang GT 10.032 Seconds / 137.5 MPH 14-time Street Warrior World Record Setter CRT Performance 2001 Tropic Green Mustang GT - 12.181 / 113.2 MPH 2002 Ford F-250 Crew Cab 7.3l Power Stroke - 17.41@77.2 "There's nothing boring about a small block automatic shifting gears at 9400 rpm!"

01-05-2005, 06:41 PM	#5
Ieatcamaros Domestic Rice really sucks! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: KY Posts: 973	Re: Understanding rear ends Like Jeff said, you can't interchange the two. But you can take the carrier and ring and pinion from one rear to another. You must keep the ring and pinion together because they are a matched set. You can't just replace the ring gear or the pinion. You don't want to do any of this at home unless you've done it before or know someone who can bail you out when you get stuck (like the mustang works site, lol) Setting the backlash is a tricky thing to do, especially when you tighten the pinion nut too much. There are several sites that have instructions on how to do this. Just for a piece of mind..... http://www.thedirtforum.com/differential.htm Well put, Jeff. You hadn't posted when I began typing mine, lol. __________________ The sig says it all.

01-06-2005, 04:20 PM	#6
surfsup Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: jersey Posts: 147	Re: Understanding rear ends So what everyone is saying is i can’t really swap out the carrier set up with out have to do some recalibrating I’m better off swapping out the entire rear end

01-06-2005, 07:47 PM	#7
Ieatcamaros Domestic Rice really sucks! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: KY Posts: 973	Re: Understanding rear ends Yes you are right. __________________ The sig says it all.

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