Ford nine inch question!

I am in the process of installing a ford nine inch in my 63 Nova. Got a new housing and axles that I planned on putting a used center section in. I thought it might be a good idea to install a new pinion seal. Upon removal of the pinion nut and yolk I discovered there was no washer between the yolk and pinion bearing. Is this normal? I have never used this center section, but a friend had borrowed it and did not report any odd noise. Before I dis***embled the pinion nut I didn't notice any excessive backlash or noise while rotating it on the bench. It just seems odd to not have a washer against a bearing. Has anyone ever seen this before?

 

I've never seen a washer there, but I have seen an oil slinger on early 9" rear ends. And they're very common on other older rear ends.

Not needed, don't worry about it.

Oh...the 9" has it's neat pinion support, so it's real easy to work on the pinion bearing and seal, you can take the 5 bolts out and work on just the pinion ***embly. Be sure to replace the O ring and make sure you use the same big shim between the pinion housing and center section.

Also pay attention to non-hunting gear ratios like 3.00 that you have to align the yellow marks on the gears when you re***emble

 

What squirrel said.
I've done dozens and dozens of gear set ups in my time. Rarely see an oil slinger. The 9 inch is about the easiest thing to set up because shims under pressed on bearings are not involved. I reckon that, along with their strength is what made 'em so popular.
My Ol' Furd (1965), came from the factory with a Dana 60. Extremely strong, but what a total pain to set up. Pinion depth and backlash...all with shims under pressed on bearings or under bearing races. I wish it had a 9 inch!

 

Thanks guys. I really appreciate your input. I will proceed with ***embly. The H.A.M.B brain trust comes through again!

 

be sure to check pinion bearing preload torque after you get the yoke back on. It's a good idea to replace the crush sleeve, as it will have wear where it contacts the bearings, and there might be too much bearing preload if you torque the nut to 150 ft lbs (or whatever it is) like you're supposed to. Oh...sealer on the splines, and loc***e on the nut, or do like you're supposed to and replace the nut, the new ones have sealer/thread locker on them.

and you can use a shim type solid spacer instead of the crush sleeve if you want.

 

My book said pinion nut torque should be 175 - 220 ft. lbs. using a crush sleeve and 25 inch lbs. using a new bearing and 15 inch pounds using the old bearing. I chose to use the old bearing and crush sleeve so I torqued the nut to 150 ft. lbs and the bearing preload seems to be a bit less than 15 inch lbs. considering the used parts. Everything feels like it did before I dis***embled it. At this point I will try it as is. I hope to add a Trac lok in the near future. I am just trying to get it on the road with a new rear and rear disc brakes. Thanks for the tips.

 

sounds like you have it figured out, good luck!

 

This has been an interesting project. I am like an old dog learning new tricks. I wasn't aware the crush sleeve could be eliminated by using a spacer. This might require further investigation. I appreciate the tips. Thanks!

 

When using a new crush sleeve the pinion nut torque is whatever is necessary to get the proper preload on the bearings. That's it. You can ignore the pinion nut torque as long as you are compressing a new crush sleeve, it's going to be high to start the crush. Final pinion nut torque only matters when you are using a solid spacer that is hand fitted to get the proper preload.

 

I figured the high torque value and the wide range stated was to compress the crush sleeve. My take was that you would begin taking preload readings at the low end of the nut torque and creep up on the nut torque until you reached the proper preload readings once the sleeve was crushed enough. Does that sound correct?

 

actually the highest torque is reached at the beginning of the crush process, isn't it?

 

Yep. The actual torque it takes is irrelevant. It'll take a bit of crush before the play is out of the bearings. When you get close to getting any play out, you need to "sneak up" a little at a time to get the bearing preload. If you go too far, then the crush sleeve is junk, unless you shim it. I know some have re-used crush sleeves. But in most cases, it'll only take a fraction of the the torque before the bearings get too tight. Usually red loc***e is needed. Using shims would be helpful in the instance. I've done it quite a few times.
Making a solid spacer would be primarily if you swap gears out frequently. Making one is very tedious. Cut it on the lathe, put it together and check to see where you with play in the bearings. Take it apart skim a little more, and repeat until you get the preload right. Cut too much....begin again with another chunk of material. You can get a pretty close start by measuring the used crush sleeve, and make your new spacer maybe .005 - .010" wider to start. Then take skim cuts from there. Keep in mind that both sides of the spacer have to be dead nuts parallel. Hard to do with a belt sander or a flat file.
Once done, it's forever....for that specific pinion carrier.

 

another fun trick is to put the pinion support in the press, press pinion gear into the yoke to get the crush sleeve mostly crushed, then use a wrench to get it the last little bit (again, sneaking up on the bearing preload, checking it often). This is easy to do with the 9", not so easy on other rearends.

you can buy spacer kits that include two machined steel parts, and ***orted shims to adjust the height. Not as reliable as a solid spacer, but they do work.

 

Now there's a valuable tech tip.

Note to self..........buy press.

 

kinda need a press for working on rearends, eh? removing and installing bearings, etc.

 

Well since I don't plan on changing gears regularly the crush sleeve will have to do. I had heard that you do not want to go to far, hence my comment about creeping up on it. I was not aware that if you went to far you could use shims, although if I am careful that shouldn't be a concern. Still good to know. My access to a lathe vanished 11 years ago when I retired. Machine access and the people I worked with are the only things I miss though. One of those folks I have stayed in contact with has a press he is willing to share so that helps. Now off to the parts store for a new nut and crush sleeve. Thank you!

 

I got a 1946 SB9 lathe at a yard sale 30 years ago...came with a large but rough ***ortment of tooling...I'd be lost without it after all these years. Sure comes in handy!

 

I've done this, also. Getting the crush sleeve to start can take a **** load of torque. Getting it started with the press is easy. As Mike and Squirrel said, sneak up on it or you'll have to start over.

 

I always buy two crush sleeves when I'm getting ready to work on a rear end that uses them

 

I just got the pinion and Daytona support set up on mine, I used the shim kit. Pretty easy set-up to use. I like the idea of something solid in there. Probably won't make a difference but no more than it cost I'm happy to know it's there...

...

 

Funny you say that you buy two, the package came with two in it!

 

I'll say it takes alot of torque, my vise broke just as the crush started. Fortunately my brother is an avid yard saler, auction attendee had a great replacement. Gonna mount it up today and finish up the crush. Now I understand the use of a spacer as an alternative to the crush sleeve.