Replacing axle bearings, allowed gear to move

[wheelspeed]

Hi folks,

Removed the pinion gear to get the axle out to replace an axle seal and bearing, and didn't know that the gears in the pumpkin shouldn't be allowed to move. Pretty much everything fell out.

What's the big deal about it not moving? All the parts inside rotate at various speeds when turning.

Anyway, now that I didn't mark anything and allowed the gears to move without the pinion installed, what should I do about getting it back together?

It's a '98 2wd Expedition EB with 200,000 miles.

 

[Big White]

You have a 50/50 shot at getting it the way it was. It may not matter all that much in the end though. The goal is to get the right spider gear on the right spot so the wear pattern does not change. It is a pain to get together, but it will. Have fun.

 

[tonydiv]

Had to read this a few times to figure out what you are trying to say.
The pinion gear is the one that comes out of the front of the diff and attaches to the driveshaft. I assume that you did not remove that. I also have to assume that you have an open diff.

So you removed the retaining shaft, removed the c-clips and then the spider and side gears fell out.

More work, but no big deal. Just reassemble and forget about it. After 200k miles all those gears have 'clearanced' themselves plenty.


Terminology

 

[01yellerCobra]

I had that happen on my old Bronco. It was a pain to get the spider gears lined up correctly. I basically guessed on the spacers that went between the spider gears and diff housing. I never had an issue after I got it back together though.

Misspelling brought to you by Tapatalk

 

[Big White]

Exactly. The side gears hold up the spider gears, and the spider gears are shimmed. That is why you really need to get the right shim with the right spider gear in the right spot. If you are lucky, you will not get whine or other issues when it is all put together.

 

[wheelspeed]

Ah, okay

Thanks folks, that'll help me sleep good tonight! Thank you for the drawing tony div. I had no idea what they were called, and used some incorrect words. Thankfully, I figured it'd be good to keep the "side gears" correct to each end of the pinion shaft, so I laid those in a way that I could put them back correctly. Actually, it was pretty neat to learn the correct way to reinstall the side gears to be able to insert the pinion shaft. Just set them opposite eachother (in whatever angle such that it appeared the pinon shaft would slide through both ends), and roll the passenger wheel until you could slide the pinion shaft in!

Lots of other things learned during this, and it's been fun. Only headache was learning that Advanced Auto nor Pep Boys seems to carry the lock nut for pininon shaft for this 9.7 or whatever rear end. Only the 8" rear. So, for anyone reading this, order the lock bolt ahead of time since no one carries it and I've heard of people working on older vehicles finding them broken because of the previous owner reusing the original. (Don't do that to the next owner... not cool!!!)

 

[wheelspeed]

It's just a shim

Exactly. The side gears hold up the spider gears, and the spider gears are shimmed. That is why you really need to get the right shim with the right spider gear in the right spot. If you are lucky, you will not get whine or other issues when it is all put together.

Bigwhite and yeller seem to have experience, but to anyone finding this thread that don't know what they're doing (like me), the Ford Expedition '98 just had a c-clamp or c-shim. SAVE It! It seems to be chamfered in a way to not damage the o-ring, so look at the wear pattern on each side to put it back the correct way. (For me it fell to the bottom in a puddle of oil when I removed it, so I had to rely on the wear-patterns, but it was pretty obvious once you looked at it.)