Ford Differentials: How to Clean Inside of Housing

by Joe Palazzolo

 

The axle housing is completely empty now, except for the pinion bearing races. Drive them out with a steel punch. Place the end of the punch on the exposed lip of the bearing race and firmly tap and move the punch around the race. (This housing has two cutouts machined into the casting at the 3 and 9 o’clock positions to allow for access of the punch. Just keep alternating between the two sides to drive the race out.) Once the pinion bearing races have been removed from the housing, start cleaning the internal housing. Use cans of brake cleaner and fresh shop rags. In this picture you can see the pinion bearing feed port above the pinion bearing races and the return port below the races. A fair amount of metal debris and crud tends to pile up in this area, so make sure it is clean. Spray generous amounts of solvent down the axle tubes and push rags from the wheel end side to the inside of the axle housing until they come clean. The axle shaft or a broom handle works well as the pusher.

 

This is what the housing looks like with the pinion bearing races removed. Use plenty of brake cleaner to remove all of the debris. Always finish with a rinse of brake cleaner to remove any pieces of shop towel.

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This tech tip is from the full book, FORD DIFFERENTIALS: HOW TO REBUILD THE 8.8 AND 9 INCH.

For a comprehensive guide on this entire subject you can visit this link: LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK HERE

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