Does anyone have enough experience to explain to me exactly how to set backlash? I will be receiving my LS soon and will be swapping my 4.10 ring gear off my open diff to the LS. I need to know how to set the back lash. I understand the shims, and installing them onto each side. But how do actually measure the backlash and what is the reasonable range?

 

Anyone want to take a shot at this?

 

try this site it has a complete tear down and rebuild of a trac lok and its intallation

http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/5o...5ohtech001.htm

 

You use a dial micrometer and good grief there are 10,000 references out there on the internet. The 8.8 has been covered on numerous Ford and Jeep sites. I don't think anyone wants to take the time to try to explain it all to you in a post.

Summary: you mount the dial micrometer to the back of the diff with a magnetic base, set up it's tip tangent to the ring gear just touching a tooth, and with the pinion immobilized you rock the ring gear back and forth and see how much it moves. Based on that you reshim the ring gear until the lash is correct. When you are done, it must be TIGHT. You should barely be able to get the shims into place.

Edit: Here's a topic with some of my experiences rebuilding an 8.8: https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...ead.php?t=6064

 

Here's some results from a google of "Ford 8.8 gear install" (which is where you should have started)...

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=144780
http://www.macamar.com/sitefiles/for...gear/index.htm

...and so forth. There's so much out there, it's astounding. This is one of the very, very common axles in all automotive applications (on and off road) and you just can't overstate that.

 

Thanks... both were very helpful. The only thing I don't have now is some of the torque specs. What is the diff cover?

 

I don't have my factory manual here to tell you, sorry. Somebody might know. I have to go to Pittsburgh tomorrow very early so I don't know as I'll have time to dig it out tonight. If no one answers here soon, ask that as a separate topic question as folks might not be paying attention to this one as much (not so many of us have done axle rebuilds relative to the number of members on here).