Rebuilding Rear Ends

This one is going to go back in time as I started this project back in February 2016.  The goal was to finish the back suspension of the car and add an Eaton TrueTrac to the rear differential.  So the plan was for me to rebuild the rear end and put everything back together with a new suspension.  I also decided to upgrade the rear brakes from drums to discs.

Out with the old suspension and rear axle

Rear End Rebuild

The car came with 31 spline axles and a Ford 9" rear end.  I picked up the rear end rebuild series from Bad Shoe Productions to help with the process.  I found Ken's videos to be very detailed and informative and they definitely helped me through the process better than any book that I have read.  The rear end rebuild went pretty smooth, everything came apart easily and went back together straight forward.  I bought a rebuild kit and reused the ring and pinion, I was happy with the end product...

Getting ready to disassemble, it is a 3.50 gear ratio

Disassembly complete

Checking backlash

Back together and ready to be put back in the car

All together

....so I take it for the first test drive and there is a terrible whine during deceleration.  I spoke with Mike over at Quick Performance and he basically told me that was because I reused the same ring and pinion and that I should have gotten a new one.  So I pulled the rear end out of the car again and shipped it to him and they rebuild it with new ring and pinion.  While I had fun rebuilding it myself, I do feel better knowing that a professional has done it and I found them to be incredibly affordable.  Also, if you are in the Midwest, I highly recommend using Spee-Dee Delivery for shipping, man they have some low prices.  I think it was less that $35 to ship a full 3rd member to Iowa.  Anyway, the new gears solved the whine and the rear end works flawlessly.


Disc Brake Conversion

I also took this opportunity to convert the rear brakes from drums to disc brakes.  I ended up going with the SSBC Brakes Ford 9" conversion kit.  The install was pretty straight forward.  I've only really had two issues with the kit.  The first was even though it says it works with the stock 14" wheels, there was an interference so I ended upgrading to 15 inch wheels and some beefy 245/60R15 tires in the back.  The other issue I am still having today and I have not been able to sort it out.  For some reason, when I put the car in reverse there is a binding sound coming from the rear passenger side of the car.  It almost sounds like the caliper is stuck pressing against the disc, but I have not been able to correctly troubleshoot it.  I am planning to take it somewhere to be sorted.

New brake conversion kit

New shoes

The new tires come out to be close to 10" wide

Other Odds and Ends

The new mid-eye leaf springs and Del-Alum bushings dropped the rear end car height.  I ended up remeasuring the drive shaft and having it lengthened to ensure better contact with the transmission.  I also had to readjust the pinion angle (I also want to get this checked that it is right).

Lengthened driveshaft

Here is the car as it sat after the work was completed.  I still had the 14" rims on the front so it looked a bit funny for awhile, but overall I was happy with the way the rear wheels filled the openings and lower stance.