Replacing 89 9bolt with 87 9bolt..... Where to start
 

Well fellas, heres the thing. I came across a 60Kmiles 87 rearend with disc brakes. My posi is shot and I always wanted better gearing anyway. This rear has the 3.27 ratio. I want to swap my brakes(89+pbr system) to the 87 rearend. It seems that all I have to do is swap backing plates and the brakes will interchange from rear to rear.
Mainly I want to know where to start here, what should I do to the 87 rear, presently sitting in the garage collecting dust...., to get it ready for install? And does anyone know where I can get a chrome 9 bolt cover or do they even make em??? Thanks

Will

why not swap carriers and gears instead of everything else?

I've never done it before, and I don't have that much knowledge with these units. I figured if I just changed brakes I could unbolt it all and go from there. I actually have to replace my fuel pump/gas tank around the same time, so I will have to remove it anyway.... But thanks man.

Ay other words of wisdom :) Anything is gonna make my life easier

Will

really easy....
I did the same. Added the 89 brakes to the 86 3.27 rear.IMHO, it's much better than messing with preloads and such. Just 2 bolts for the caliper, 4 bolts for the axle/backing plate. Dead-blow hammer to knock the axles out, and bam good to go.
Took me about 30mins start to finish to swap.
good luck

dead blow hammer?!?!?! y not just take out the c-clip in the diff housing and pull out the axles.

9-bolts don't have C-clips.

i know, i just thought he accidently said 9-bolt. he's kinda a odd ball you know. j/k will

Right on dawg

One of the first things id do is pull the cover and inspect it and make sure its mechanically sound. If the gear oil and axle tubes are full of black crud then id stop there and consider rebuilding the carrier with some new clutch cones and what not. I presently have two 9 bolts (really wanted those later model pbr brakes but had to take the rear with them) and both of them have the friction material caked all over the inside of the diff housing. And not surprisingly, the posi is only semi functional in the one I have in the car. If teh gear oil looks good and it passes the posi test posted on diffsolutions.com then replace the axle bearings. Autozone carries the timken stuff and theyll sell you new bearings and seals for around 30 something dollars. The parts are speacial order so youll have to wait a week or so. After that, take the axles and have the old bearings pressed off and the new bearings pressed on. Swap it in, put on the brakes, refill with new gear oil, friction modifier if you choose, and you should be good to go.