The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Ring gear & Pinion bearings

Removed the rear axle assembly to replace the front and rear pinion bearings and possibly the propeller shaft bushings and oil seal. Bushings are the 2nd design (pressed) and not rivited.
When I drained the differential a lot of water came out. Don't know how it got there. Needless to say, the ring gear has light surface rust on one side of most of the teeth. Everything else looks ok, no cracked, chipped or scoured teeth, except the differential side bearings, which should be replaced. Any problems if I use this ring gear?

Removed the axles, differential gears/assembly and removed the torque tube carrier from the axle housing. Removed the 3 bearing retaining screws w/ lock nuts.
According to the manual, disassembly, http://chevy.tocmp.com/1948_51truckshop/51ctsm0405.htm
#6. Remove 3 tapered bearing retaining screws and tap splined end of propeller shaft allowing pinion shaft to slide out.
#7. Remove shims from inside of propeller shaft housing making note of number and total thickness of shims removed.

Does "slide out" mean that the shaft will come completely out of the tube? When I tap on the splined end, the shaft only moves about 1/2". I have tried a couple of hard hits and still only get about 1/2". Do I need to pound on it or what?

Later on it says to drill out rivit but it doesn't say which one. http://chevy.tocmp.com/1948_51truckshop/51ctsm0406.htm

Any input is appreciated.

The driveshaft is splined onto the pinion gear and bearing assembly. The rivet they speak of secures the shaft from sliding in and out on the pinion.

Check out my faq on this job at:
http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/rear_end/index.html

Ive run them with a little rust on the teeth & as long as you get the tooth pattern correct they will lap themselves in. If it has been running with loose bearings it may have worn 2 patterns & may sing a little.

Fred, nice write up on your ring and pinion replacement. I think $400.00 for those two pieces is tooo much. But, I might end up getting them because I don't want to put in all new bearings, seals, bushing,...... and then have it sing. Thanks Wrenchbender for that info.

I did find the kit for $155.00 though, and it also includes the front and rear bushing instead of one bushing.

Removed the shaft from the tube. It took more than a tap. It dropped right out after 2-3 hard hits on a piece of 2x4. Used a grinder to remove the head from the rivet/pin. Pin was tight but came out pretty easy. The nut was probably the hardest to get off. Your cresent and pipe idea worked nice.

The bushings were a problem at first, because I kept hearing the "ringing of the bells". I ended up using a 1" pipe with the coupling, 1 5/16" O.D. which was on the scrap pile. (no longer on the scrap pile, it is now saved as a tool) Anyway, It went right through the seal knocked out the rear bushing, which has a smaller O.D. diameter then the front bushing. So the rear bushing drops loose in the tube and then slides forward to knock out the front bushing. Then I used the pipe and a 3/4" drive socket, size 1 1/8" to "tap" out the seal.

I was wondering how Patrick's one bushing takes the place of two bushings and where it fits in the tube.

Wrenchbender is right, a little rust doesn't hurt the ring and pinion gears. You'd want to clean it off with a rotary brass wire brush before reassembling so you can get your backlash adjusted right, though.

Patrick's one piece bronze bushing has the oil seal pressed into one end and is turned to the correct diameters on both ends to replace the original two bearings. It is a good setup and easy to install.