1965 Ford Mustang Convertible Rear Axle Rebuild

The pinion gear bearing has been pressed on and is fitted with a new crush sleeve. Always use a new crush sleeve. This is also called a bearing preload spacer, which loads the bearing and pinion when proper torque is achieved.

Differential carrier bearings are pressed on next.

Pinion bearing races (cups) have been pressed into the housing. The seal is next; it must be lubricated with axle lube around the inside perimeter to ensure a slippery start. Do this dry and you could wind up with a damaged seal and leakage.

The pinion gear is installed along with the yoke. This is the time to set the pinion preload. The nut is torqued until the pinion has 17-27 in. lbs. of preload. This means it should take 17-27 in. lbs. of torque to turn the pinion with new bearings. An important issue here is shims and shim thickness between the bearing and pinion. When you're using a good, used gear set, stick with the shim(s) already with the gear set. If new, you will have to determine shim thickness by temporarily installing the ring and pinion and lapping gears until proper shim thickness is determined. This is a very tedious process.

The ring gear is installed and backlash set using a dial indicator. This determines the backlash between gear teeth. Proper backlash is 0.008-0.012-inch. You want a nice, smooth roll with no binding......

......Any binding means backlash or pinion depth is too tight. Keep in mind that rear ends run very hot. If it binds cold, it will lock up when hot. Get it too loose and it will be noisy and wear out quickly.

Carrier bearing caps have been torqued to 40-44 ft. lbs. with Loctite thread locker. Here, we're installing the adjustment locks.

National Parts Depot provided us with new brake kits and parking brake cables. Aside from the backing plates, which have been reconditioned by Mustangs Etc., these brakes are all new.

The rear axle shaft seals are installed next using The Right Stuff sealer around their perimeters and assembly lube around the inside lip.

The axle shafts have been cleaned and inspected. New axle bearings have been pressed on and we're ready for installation.

The cover is installed using either a gasket or The Right Stuff in a thin bead where it doesn't seep out. Bolts are torqued to 10-17 ft. lbs. If you overtighten these bolts, the cover could leak.