That would propbably be your crush sleeve crushed. Solid pinion spacer.

 

for step by step picture instructions for rear end 3rd member go here...


http://gearinstalls.com/billyrear.htm

 

probably.
lol, i'll be re-doing these 4.10', or finding a 4.30 to match for the front

 

Make sure the new third has the correct drive shaft flange/bolt pattern/bolt size before you swap the old one out. If you have to swap flanges you will have to reset the preload at the pinion.

Pulling the third is pretty straight forward, remove fill plug, remove drain plug, remove driveshaft, disconnect ebrake cables and brake hard lines at the backing plates, remove nuts holding backing plates on on each side, pull axle shafts(brake assembly comes off with them), unbolt 3rd.. sometimes the studs will come out instead of just the nuts, its about 60 pounds so don't let it fall to the ground.

 

Yeah...
3rd/axle shafts are already out, llol.

now the cunundrum is how do i clean the old oil crap out of my axle...

 

Can you explain to me how crushing the spacer does anything. As far as I can tell, the spacer is purely a tool for setting the preload during the initial install and its purpose is fulfilled already by the time it is ever installed in the vehicle. AFAIK, during the install, the spacer just crushes progressively allowing for a consistent preload for the pinion bearings.

Even Marlin Czajkowski seems to agree on this point, and says that the only instance where a solid spacer might come from keeping the two pinion bearings a hair more rigidly aligned on the pinion as they are camped between the pinion head and the pinion nut just a little firmer once preload drops to zero over time.

The preload is maintained by the staked pinion nut pressing the pinion bearings into the races. The races are set into the cast third member housing (ie: their not going anywhere). "Smacking the pinion flange against a rock and loosing all your preload" seems to me to be a myth as a) the crush sleeve serves no purpose in maintaining preload as far as I can tell, and b) the force of the impact to the pinion flange would be directed to from flange --> pinion shaft -->outer pinion bearing--> bearing race -->third member housing --->axle housing.



Recall the pinion bearing races (blue) are set into the cast iron third member.


Zuk says: "Removing a nut that has a crush sleeve under it is perfectly acceptable AS LONG AS the nut is re-positioned to the same indentation as before or it can be positioned after the indentation to increase the PPL to an acceptable number." http://www.gearinstalls.com/rickdiaz.htm (halfway down the page).






.

 

Okay.
I swapped flanges, set preload, cleaned housing, etc etc.
I have the 3rd member sealed on and bolted on..
But, now theres a 1/4" gap between where the axle and drum bolts to the axle housinIs the older 3rd member not able to accept the longer axles all the way? Or do i need to put the older axle shafts in, as well.

am i SOL?

 

Truck is back together.
Still need to bleed the lines..
Hehehe, 4:30's rock, i can totally feel the difference from the 4.10's.

 

That was so good it was worth repeating.

The FSM also states when you should replace a used pinion spacer. Pretty self-explanatory, on page SA-150 there. See here:http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...35differen.pdf

Basically, no need to replace one if you haven't reached 253 ft.lbs.(for an 8" diff, 174 ft.lbs. for a 7.5")on the pinion nut without achieving a proper drive pinion pre-load. Or, if you've overtightened the nut, and exceeded the proper pre-load specifications.

 

I like how the last posts that arent mine dont even relate to my problem...

 

did u swap a your axles out?

 

I swapped 3rds and pinion flanges
The other axle i had was from a 79, which is where i got the 3rd from.

 

good deal, now rebuild the you have so you have a spare down the road...

 

?

Nah, I wont go there...

 

I have a set of 4:30's front and rear if you need them