Today was the day the rear diff went back together. Here's some info that may be of assistance for anyone wanting to do the same. I reused my original ring and pinion as they were in as new condition.

Timken Bearings

Inner Pinion bearing HM89449
Race HM89410

Front Pinion bearing M86649
Race M86610

Carrier bearing (x2) LM501349
Race (x2) LM501314

NAPA Pinion seal 19273

C/R Axle Seal 13492

GM crush sleeve 9785792

2.5 pints 80/90 oil

Machinist blueing for tooth pattern test

Pinion preload 15-25 in lbs. Had to use a breaker bar with 4 ft extension to initially collapse the crush sleeve to set pinion preload. Ended up with 18 in lbs.

Backlash .005 - .009 (check 4 different places and maintain no more than .002 difference)Ended up with .005 - .007

Bearing caps torque 70 lb ft

Had to shim .041 on one side and .047 on the other of the carrier for correct tooth pattern.

I choose to reuse the outer axle bearings but replaced the seals. The bearings felt good still and its an easy change later if needed.

Total time for rebuild (which included removing the old bearings and pressing on the new) was about 3 hours with the housing on the bench.

Total cost (not including oil, blueing or free use of a machine shop) $138.00 + 14.5% taxes = $160.00 well spent.

Now I just have to put the rear end back in the car and wait a few months till I finish the rest of the car to see if it howls.

Next step is to clean and paint the motor and trans. Doing the ST300 to Turbo 350 conversion.

Kind of ahead of myself but - Anyone know if the original driveshaft will fit?

I have a choice of 2 that I have in the shop. One from the ST300 and the other from a 4 speed.

Gerry

Your driveshaft will work fine as long as you use a T-350. Replace your U-joints while you're at it! Sounds like you are doing the job right!

Steve

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Sounds like a well organized fine job.

What tools did the job require. Did you already have the shims or did you need to buy them?
If you bought them, where?

Tools that were used:

18 ton press (overkill but nice to have the power)

2 piece bearing support (2 wedge shaped pieces with a half circle in the middle of each with redi rod on both ends to sqeeze the thinner ends of the wedge together under the bearing)

Varsoll tank to clean parts

1 5/8" od x 8" pipe (to press new bearing onto the pinion)

old carrier bearing center (to press carrier bearings)

inch lb torque wrench (cute little thing about 8" long with a dial indicator for measuring "drag" on pinion)

micrometer (for double checking shim size)

feeler gauges (double checking how many more and size of shims)

pry bar bent 90* on the end (to help get the carrier out of the diff to add more shims)

dial indicator with magnetic base (for measuring backlash)

18" breaker bar with 5 ft extension (we figure there was probably 3-400 lb ft of torque to get initial "break" started on the crush sleeve)

1 1/4" socket (for the pinion nut)

5/8" socket (for the bearing cap bolts)

1/2" drive ratchet

click type torque wrench (way more acurate then the needle type)

2 lb ballpean hammer (to hit the brass punch)

8" brass punch with 1/2" face (to install new seals)

6 pack of Canadian tall cans (to quench the thirst after the job is done. Sure there's better beer but "I AM CANADIAN" and it was free)

Shims can be purchased at the local parts store in various sizes. My buddy that helped me had a small bucket full to choose from. As it turned out the factory one piece shims that were used originally were bang on what we needed.

Gerry

Thanks for sharing your tool breakdown. I know it took a while to list, I appreciate it.