CPA5OHtech - Page: 2 of 27

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Parts

Ring Gear & Pinion Set:

To the left is a ring gear & pinion set from Ford Racing Performance Parts. The kit comes with pinion nut, pinion gear, crush sleeve, and ring gear.

I do not know if gear sets from other manufacturers (Richmond, etc.) include a new pinion nut and crush sleeve. The crush sleeve is an absolute must because it is used to set the preload on the pinion bearing. The pinion nut isn't a must, but the price is very low and it is recommended. The crush sleeve is supplied with every installation kit that I have seen. Both are available from Ford dealers for very little cost.

Ratech's Deluxe Gear Install Kit

If the pinion depth is not correct with the factory installed pinion shim you will need a different sized shim in order to set the pinion depth correctly. Otherwise your gears will whine, wear unevenly, and/or break. The pinion shims come in every rebuild kit that I have seen and can also be purchased as a set from a Ford dealer.

If the gear backlash is not correct using the factory installed carrier shims you will need different sized carrier shims to set it correctly. These come in more complete gear installation kits and are also available from Ford dealerships as a set.

If you wish to reinstall the original pinion bearing onto the new pinion gear you may. You may, however, decide that you would like to install a new pinion bearing. These are available in most installation kits, from Ford dealers, as well as most auto parts stores. You may also wish to replace the pinion bearing race as you replace the pinion bearing.

Depending on how complete you want your 8.8 rebuild to be you can also replace the carrier bearings and races, inner pinion bearing, pinion seal, ring gear bolts, axle bearings and seals. Deluxe installation kits come with all of these parts or you can purchase these separately at dealers and auto parts stores.

Ford recommends that a bottle of Friction Modifier be added to the rear end (along with gear oil.) Friction Modifier comes with the Traction Lok rebuild kit (below) or can be purchased separately from a Ford dealer.

(If rebuilding the stock differential)

Parts including in Ford's Traction Lok Rebuild Kit:

Nozzle for friction modifier, 4 oz. bottle of friction modifier, pinion shaft retaining bolt (with thread locker applied from the factory,) eight steel clutch disks, ten side gear shims (in .005" gradiations,) and six friction disks.

Speedometer Calibration Gear:

If you replace your ring and pinion without installing a new speedometer calibration gear (speedometer driven gear) your speedometer will read a speed higher (if you are moving to a numerically higher gear set) than it did prior to the gear swap. Obviously that is undesireable. Near the end of these instructions you will find a page that will aid you in deciding which speedometer gear is necessary in your application.

Additional Parts I Needed:

The S-spring which holds the differential side gears in place. As you'll see later, I had to break mine in order to remove the pinion shaft.

Some have used the S-spring from a Ford F-150 rear end because it has a higher spring rate and is supposed to hold the side gears tighter, making the differential "beefier." I have no experience with the F-150 spring.

The pinion shaft and retaining bolt (sold together.) I had to replace mine because the old one got stuck in the differential gears and had to be hammered out.

Many people have indicated that a common problem during disassembly is the pinion shaft retaining bold breaking inside the carrier. In this case you may end up needing these parts.

One note, the pinion shaft retaining bolt is included in the traction lok rebuild kit above, so I ended up with two of these.

Russell Speed Bleeders. I bought these because since I was swapping in a completely rebuilt rearend, which involves removing the brake lines, I wanted to be able to bleed the brakes the best way possible.

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