Rear axle Lube capacity

[Tony H]

'91, what is the capacity for the rear axle? I have a quart at home just wondering if I need more. Doing the Axle bearings and seals, So it will be empty

 

[Maniak]

1 is not enough.. with a Stock cover on a 1st gen it is "about" 2.5 bottles..

~Mark

 

[Tony H]

Thanks. It's been a while since I had an axle apart.
At 320K miles the on seal is weeping. If I have to go into the Carrier to take the Pin and 'C' clip out to slide the axle, I might as well do both sides and spend the extra couple of minutes to throw new Race and bearings in the ends.

 

[Maniak]

Exactly.. and yes, they do last quite a while.. Ours went out at about 375k miles or so..

Most likely though you have the same issue we have.. the bearing went and it took out the seal which means you "might" need new axles depending on how badly worn they are.. Seals don't usually go out w/out the bearing going first..

~Mark

 

[Tony H]

Hopefully I caught it in time. I didn't hear a whine in the rear.

Again. I haven't done an axle in a long time.. Do you pack Bearing Grease on these or do I use the 80 weight oil during install and from there the gear oil will lube them?

 

[Maniak]

No bearing grease.. I just put them in a bowl of gear oil and let them sit in there while I got them ready to install.

There is a thread on here about replacing axle bearings which includes pics.. In in general, the hardest part will be the s-clip you have to pull to pull the c-clips. At least I'm pretty sure you have to pull that.. We have a detroit locker in ours so we don't have a clip to pull to get the pin out to pull the c-clips..

~Mark

 

[Tony H]

"S" clip? that's new to me. Usually there is a bolt or a Pressed in pin that has to be taken out to get that shaft holding the Spider gears in to make room to push the axle in to get at teh 'C' clips. I will look for the Thread and if I don't find it, I'll figure it out whne I take the cover off.

 

[Maniak]

forget the s-clip.. its there, but you don't need to remove it.. when I helped someone put his 8.8 backtogehter he had the s-clip out.. but from reading this "how to" you don't need to pull it (I don't have it on our 8.8 since we have a full locker installed)

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214805

~Mark

 

[Tony H]

All done! 3 hours from start to new rear brakes and drums on.

Yes, you can work around that 'S' clip. Which I have never seen in a rear axle before. I have never had an 8.8 open before. Pin bolt came right out so that made my day. Replaced with a new one anyway.

Take out bolt, Slide Pin out, push axle in, take off 'C' clip, Pullaxle out and put Pin back, slide bolt in just to hold it. THEN play with the seal and bearing. That keeps the Spider Gears in place. Reverse and then move to the other axle.

Only issue I had was the Springs on the Seals. On both sides , as I banged the new seals in, The springs popped off. I actually had to work with a Pick and my fingers to get the spring back on the seal.. It's on the Blind side so that was no picnic. I have the 'real' tool to hammer in Bearings and seals so it's not like I was doing something abusive. Next time I will use a few dabs of Gasket sealer and dab it on to hold the spring to the seal.
Thanks for varifying how this axle comes apart.

 

[HahnsB2]

The S-clip is actually an S-spring, it's part of the limited slip.

 

[Tony H]

The S-clip is actually an S-spring, it's part of the limited slip.

Thanks. As I said I never had a 8.8 or any Ford Rear opened before. Glad I didn't have to deal with it. It doesn't look like a picnic to put back.

 

[Maniak]

The S-clip is actually an S-spring, it's part of the limited slip.

The '88 f-150 with the 8.8 I was helping on had an open rear end and it has the s-spring in it.

~Mark

 

[Dan Whitaker]

Tony,

I like the idea of putting the pin back in after removing the axle. Weather permitting I will be relacing the bearings & seals on my '97 this weekend.

 

[Tony H]

Tony,

I like the idea of putting the pin back in after removing the axle. Weather permitting I will be relacing the bearings & seals on my '97 this weekend.

Suggestion:
Angle the Carrier so you can Slide the pin out without it getting hung up on the Axle Housing AND enough so the Pin Bolt does not hit the 'U' clips that hold the Carrier in the housing. almost 45 degrees. This way you don't have to rotate the carrier to put the Pin back in and mess up the Spider gears. you will need to slide the Bolt back in Or the Pin will slide out.
Another though. before pulling the pin, push the axle in then with a Pick or screwdriver, rotate the 'C' clips around so they can be grabbed and pulled straight out toward you. Again so you don't have to rotate the axle with the Pin out.
If the driveway is on a slight angle.. remember to put a Catch pan under the axle housing by the Brakes you will get a lot of gear oil pouring out of the low end.

Slide Hammer is a must for this job.

 

[Dan Whitaker]

Thank you Tony.

I picked up a 5lb slide hammer and bearing removing set from Harbor Freight at lunch time

 

[Tony H]

Sorry to keep butting in. Normally I can put the three footed removal tool in past the bearing, tighten it up and slide out the Seal and bearing in one shot. Not with this axle. They were in there tight. Seal first then the bearing. The bearing tends to fall apart as you slide and slide. Make sure you get all the bearings out of the housing before sliding the axle back in.

Good luck

 

[HahnsB2]

The '88 f-150 with the 8.8 I was helping on had an open rear end and it has the s-spring in it.

~Mark

Sounds like someone got a hold of it and had no idea what they were doing.

 

[Maniak]

Thats very possible.. we have found a few oddities on that truck (he is 2nd owner).

~Mark