First off, thanks to Hemi-Killer for the seal and bearing part number that info helped me a lot. I thought I had the right numbers, but O'Reilly's website makes it hard to figure out the right ones. Having been a parts counterman as a kid, I prefer to look up part numbers myself when possible and I don't really trust the parts countermen at my local store to look up parts. I ordered the Precision bearings version of that bearing part number from Oreilly's. They also offer a Master Pro Brand version which I think is their house brand for half the price, but I went with the Precision brand. I am hoping it is a better-quality bearing, but they are probably built in the same factory in China on the same assembly line, but I tried.
I ordered a new center section for my 9-inch differential from Speedway, I ordered a clutch style limited slip with 3.25 gear ratio, which should be sufficient for what I want to do, just cruising around basically maybe an occasional burnout. My engine is pretty tame, so I did not see the need for a gear-type posi. I have a 3.0 gear ratio open case now so it should be an improvement without killing my highway driving. My pinion bearing is a little noisy as well, so it needs to be done.
It seems the more I learn about the Ford world, the more I find out how little I do know. I think it is like when my sons were teenagers, they all got to that age where they knew it all and realized how stupid the old man was. And then year by year, as they learned a little more, they started to realize how little they actually did know and that I wasn't quite as dumb as they previously believed, ha-ha.
I did not realize that the bearings are mounted outside of the axle seals. Are these bearings sealed, or do you need to pack them with grease? On a Chevy 12-bolt like I have on my other cars the bearing is pressed into the housing and then the seal is installed outboard of the bearing, so the bearing is submerged in the gear oil. Admittedly, I have not removed the axles yet, but I can't get my head around how the axle bearing is lubricated. The picture on the O'Reilly website makes it look like it is a sealed bearing, but I can't look at them to figure that out until the bearings arrive tomorrow or Tuesday.
The center section is supposed to be delivered Wednesday. Today, I am going to raise the car and remove the axles and center section. After that I am going to clean it up inside and out. I need to repair the bottom of the housing where I previously scratched the paint with the jack. Tomorrow I am going to work on finding someone to press the new bearings for me before Wednesday if possible. That way I will be ready to reassemble when the new center section arrives.
I replaced the center section on my 73 Mach 1 back in high school with a used one that I bought from a tech I worked with at a Ford dealership. Unfortunately, this is my total experience with Ford 9-inch differentials. Back then being a stupid 16-year-old, I removed the axles, swapped in the used center section I bought and reinstalled the axles. I never gave any thought to inspecting the seals and bearings or taking care not to damage the seals removing and reinstalling the axles. Somehow, probably just dumb luck, nothing leaked, and it wasn't noisy, so I took that as a win. I want to do it right and definitely replace the seals and replace bearings if that is what you guys believe should be done.
I am now wondering if there is no noise from the original bearings, and there is no play in the bearing, should I stick with the original Ford bearings that are on the shaft or definitely swap to the new aftermarket bearings? I am not trying to cut corners, but I am just not all that confident the Precision bearings are made as well as the original Ford bearings were. The car showed only 68,000 miles on the odometer, which may be accurate. The PO had the car over 18 years and bought it without an engine and never got around to installing one. He told me he tried to buy the car for over five years from that PO after he saw it sitting in their side yard with no engine for 4-5 years. I think 68,000 seems realistic for a car that hasn't had an engine in it since around 1991-92.
I would appreciate any help you can give on how the axle bearing/seal thing works on the 9-inch and also any advice on whether to attempt to reuse the Ford bearings or definitely replace the bearings with the Precision bearings. Thanks
