If you don't have access to a press, it's better to get someone who does do it. Went thru this doing an 8.8 rear a few months ago. Had to repeatedly press on and off the pinion bearing to set the pinion depth. Not sure if thats the case with an 8 or 9 though.
Me,,, I have my rear end guy set it up. Never had a problem, I buy all my parts off him as he is picky and does enough business he knows what is junk an good. Gotta watch as there are some experts out there that have no idea! Get references for sure,, local racers should know who's good.
Thats the thing, theres 2 good guys in town, but their swamped with work. I guess I could leave it with them, not like I'll be driving the car in the snow.
I tried it myself one time but that was about 25 years ago. I drove the car about 15 years after that and the whine never did go away. I'll pay someone to do the next one and maybe watch and learn.
Perhaps talk to some local racers and see if they have any recomendations! I had mine changed last year by a local guy who owns(and built) a 9sec Super Gas Mustang. I dropped the car off and he removed it, changed the gears, set them up and reinstalled it for $60...for that price I didn't want to even get dirty! He also narrowed my rear a few years back (he has a jig) for $100...
You can do it. You'll need a dial indicator to measure backlash and a BIG torque wrench. A small beam-type in-lb torque wrench to measure pinion bearing preload. Instead of pressing the bearings on the pinion gear I just stick the gear in the freezer overnight to shrink it some. I use white artist's oil paint to check the contact pattern, comes in a tube from the craft shop. Oh yeah, and a good manual. Don't try to follow the goofy magazine articles, not enough detail. $60 is dirt cheap!
I did it 4 years ago or so. Still whines, but works OK. I might take it off and let an "expert" re-allign everything and get rid of the whine. Other than that, it works great. Had a 280 ZX that whined for the first 150,000 miles I owned it. Then I popped off the rear and machined a spacer, slapped it on, and the whine was gone until i traded it in at 280,000... I did not have a press, but would recommend that you get one or let someone that has one do the job. I used spare bearing races and large sockets, and a BFH to get everything where they needed to go. I consider it a success, on my low-budget cheap-a$$ way of doing things, but when I can afford it, I will let someone redo it correctly.
Dave,thats all I do,been at it for close to 20 years,you are too far away for me to do anything for you,but if you have any questions about your gears,feel free to ask,I can at least steer you in the right direction,8s and 9s are quite easy,all you need is a little,patience,PM me if you need ,Jack
That's another reason I love this board so much. We have grown so much and have so many members. We are bound to have an expert somewhere on pretty much any subject that comes along. It's good to have you here dave!
Hey Dave, I believe Summet has a video you can buy that tells you how to do it. Its a pretty good "how to" and covers almost all the rears out there.
Dennis; I bought that video and a dial indicator before I found a rear that was new, setup correctly and complete for a great price. The video is very detailed, and should give anyone a good result if you follow the instructions.
