Removing rear chunk on a 8 3/4"

[shadango]

Well, after putting it off for a while, I guess I need to pull the chunk on my car....

The car sat for who knows how long and I certainly dont want to assume its healthy.....I have spun the rear and I dont hear any noise etc, but I dont want any hidden issues to snowball...

So, making plans to pull it and check it out.

Looking for any hints, tips, pointers, etc.....I know you remove the retaining bolts at each end of the axles.....then pull the axles out (can this be done by hand or will I need a puller?)...then I guess its just a matter of  removing the umpteen nuts on the housing and the whole thing should come off ,right?

Any do's/don'ts for cleaining the chunk before reassembly?

Then reassembly is just the reverse, eh?  RTV is used for the housing sealant I guess....what do you guys use?

Was gonna probably go with mobil 1 synthetic gear lube.....

Should I replace any parts while I have it apart?  Axle bearings etc?

[Chryco Psycho]

the axles should slide out easily just a bump with a pry bar is normal at worst
 I usually remove all the nuts n the center carrier but 1 at the top which I leave loose then use a floor jack to split the seal & lower it down , Felpro makes a gasket for it & I use Ultra Black RTV as it has high oil resistance , you may want to pass on the Syn gear oil as some poeple seem to be having problems with it

[shadango]

Ok, so ixnay on the synthetic...just plain old gear old then?  What weight? (Probably in the manual, eh?)

And a gasket....is that an auto store type of deal or a special order?

Just refill the case till it oozes, yes?  Know the capacity off hand? (Also, probably in the manual...)

[Chryco Psycho]

80-90w gear oil
 you do not have to use the gasket but it is available from FelPro so any parts tore that has felpro gaskets should be able to get it for you
 just fill the diff until it is up to the fill hole , 2 qts is nomal

[71chally416]

Yeah, I'd pass on the syn lube with a rear that's ran the normal gear lube it's whole life. I like to use a gasket too, but I suppose you don't need it. And don't forget to clean and re-grease your axel bearings while they're out if you have the stock type. Some think they are lubed by the axel lube but they aren't.

If it was me I'd just do the axel bearing grease and leave the rear alone if it's still quiet and dry. You can suck the lube out with one of those suck things that looks like a grease gun with a hose and check it for metal. Fill it with good regular gear lube like Valvoline and don't worry about it. It'll talk to you if it has a problem.

[shadango]

Well, I dont know if its quiet yet or not....The car isnt running yet,......

Figured i would avoid any major issues by being pre-emptive...lol

Would hate to stick the tranny in and find out that she has issues....I have no idea how long the car has sat with whatever is in there.....

Any chance you guys know the felpro part numbers for the axle flange gaskets and the housing gasket?

All the parts stores seem to go on catalogs now...they want a year, make and model.....and since my car isnt "standard" I am at the mercy of luck....if I have a part number, much easier....

[71chally416]

You can get the chunk gasket from Mancini>

http://chucker54.stores.yahoo.net/mohoga83ax.html

I just use a little silicone to seal the rest. Those foam gaskets they used are crap.

[Changin Gears]

Is this going to turn into the "never use"/"always use" synthetic gear oil (or engine oil) debate again?

[71chally416]

Well I love the racing stuff using it in race cars. But then they are always new engines and don't have hydraulic lifters or posi clutches and they are only run for seconds at a time. I tried the stuff in my 3.0 '92 Daytona and the valvetrain sounded like a sewing machine until I put normal oil back in, and the only street car in 35 years I tried the Syn gear lube in broke the ring gear with a tired 360. That was the first gear I ever broke with street tires. Maybe I'm just real unlucky, but I'm not using it in old iron anymore that was designed to run regular oil. Anyone else is welcome to do as they wish though.

[bb71challenger]

Regular dino juice with sure grip additive is all I use. I lost a good 3.23 sure grip to straight Mobil 1 synthetic gear oil 

[shadango]

This is just another example of how the forum can change but the song remains the same....    

I am big into my street bike too and we have the same discussions about synth vs dino.  I had real bad luck with synthetic in my brand new Honda VTX1300r.........used dino oil for the break-in and then switched to synthetic....I was sold on it for years...use it in all my cars/trucks....gear oil etc....in fact still do....Mobil 1....

But I switched to synthetic oil in my bike and within a week or three I was having major clutch issues. Lived with it for awhile trying to figure out the cause....

Swapped out the clutch-pack (barely any miles on it really) and went back to dino oil and its been fine ever since......could be coincidence....could have been a bum clutch pack....or maybe cause and effect.   I do know that another guy had the exact same experience as I did.....he changed back to dino oil and all was well.....

Wont run synthetic in a clutch bike/atv again.....and the majority of folks have had no issues with synthetic on the same model of bike....they swear by it.

Who knows.   

I will stick with the dino oils and lubes for this car at least for now......it was good enough for Ma Mopar back in 72, it should be OK for now.

Oh, and 71chally416, I am going to go with your suggestion and just do a suck and fill on her......that should be good enough for making sure the lube is OK enough....if she whines etc then I'll take her apart.   

Just wondering how tough it will be...that fill hole looks aweful small.....I was thinking of maybe using a piece of scrap fuel line (left over from when I was bending my own fuel line...LOL) and bend it to go down into the depths of the chunk......

[Changin Gears]

I have a friend who welded a drain plug in his housing to eliminate this problem.  Never understood why car Dana 60's have a drain plug (trucks don't seem to) when they have an inspection cover.  I would never change the lube in a Dana without taking a peek inside.