ok i just bought a ring and pinon set and i was wondering if there is anything i should look out for when installing it. its a 8in rear with original 2.79 and iam instaling 4.11 richmond gears . and is it safe to use on a non-posi rearend?
should go right in. On 9" rears, you have to grind some on the tail bearing support for ring gear clearance, but I think the 8" rears are pretty straight forward. Plenty safe to use on a "open" differential...just be careful when you drive it, the deeper gear will allow almost effortless wheelspin, especially in wet weather
I am about to purchase the same gears as chris exept i want to run a mini spool. anybody have any experience putting one in a 8 rear? they are pretty cheap so i figured it would be easier to do that than get a posi 9, but i could be wrong. what do you guys think?
Ring and pinion gears have to be set up correctly for good wear. You really don't need any special tools. I believe Summit sells a video on setting them up. They use a high dollar pinion depth gauge but your wear pattern will tell you if its too shallow or deep anyway so its really not necessary. The other gauges they use is a torque wrench (around 25 inch pounds) for bearing preload. If you been wrenching for any amount of time, you pretty much know how much to tighten your bearings. The last thing they use is a dial indicator for backlash. If you have a cam degreeing kit, there is one in there. If not, usually backlash is around .008. I just set them up so I can barely detect the movement. If you got the bucks, then gauges are the way to go for the most accurate set up, but I've been doing them for more than 30 years without them and never had a problem. The spools are easy to install but very dangerous on wet roads if you intend to use this as a daily driver.
if you are going to use the car on the street, go with the posi. it may cost a little more but it will be a lot safer. your tires will cost more too as they will be wearing out a lot faster as you will be dragging one wheel every time you turn. i noticed this weekend when i had to pit in the dirt at the dragstrip that when i turned into my pit the front tires seemed to want to plow instead of turning.
