Thanks everyone for the warm welcome back. Here’s a quick update.
We had a problem with the AC unit in our house. The sad thing about this situation is that the unit itself was completely replaced about 2.5 years ago. Luckily it was covered by the warranty but we still had to pay for the labor. Oh well. $h1T happens right ?
On to the good stuff now.
I’m building two sets of 8 3/4 carriers. Both are the 489 case and I always install the crush sleeve eliminator and I use American made Timken bearings. I know that they are occasionally packaged with parts from Mexico and other places but if you look at the back of the bearings you can see “MADE IN THE USA”. These are the ones that you want to use. You could probably get by with some other brands as long as they’re still a quality product.
But that’s getting to be a hard thing to find anywhere lately. Quality. A thing of the past. Geez. I’m sounding like a grumpy old man !
I have already set up the pinion depth on both, and pressed the new Timken bearings on the rear of the pinion. It’s super easy with a set up bearing and the proper tools. You can’t do it without the setup bearings because of how the shims are located behind the rear pinion bearing.
The front pinion bearing is also pretty hard to put on and off and it has a slight interference fit. Normally you would not have to worry about it because of the crush washer.
But I eliminated it. So I have to install the shim spacers and then turn the pinion to make sure that the pre load is correct on the pinion bearings.
This is always a trial and error thing. I usually measure the original crush washer and use it as the starting point. Necessity is the mother of invention.
I needed a good setup bearing for the front of the pinion too. I took a new Timken bearing and carefully honed it out so that now it slips on and off without much trouble. It took forever with a brake cylinder hone, but I managed to get it done in this century !
I also made the handy dandy carrier holding fixture, using some scrap metal I had left over from building the frame rail jig.
So I had to paint it with a Mopar color. I had some Chrysler Corporate Blue left over from a previous engine build.
Chrysler Blue it is then !!!
One gear set is a 3:23 and the other is a 3:55. Both are going to get an Auburn differential.
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I have been busy with fabrication work. I have made a killer dash frame stand. I’ll post up some pictures of it later.
In true fashion it’s been painted in Mopar colors too. The frame itself is Black and Aluminum color. But the holding straps are Hemi Orange.
I had to…. Just couldn’t resist.
Thanks for stopping by.
