Hey guys, busted my 9 bolt open the other day and pulled the carrier out, thinking it could probably use a shimming before I throw it into the car. What do you think? I'm really hung up as to whether or not it needs attention after reading this article and looking at the clearance window...

http://www.9bolt.com/technical.html

Pictures of mine:




^^ some surface rust flakes fell in for this picture, that's all that is.

 

Looks like the cones haven't bottomed out yet. However, as you have the carrier out you may as well take it apart and reshim to get it back as close to 'new' as you can. Then you can also make sure the cones haven't started to contact the raised center in either of the carrier halves.

 

Well that's a relief! But how much do I shim it without making the posi way too tight?

 

When you open it up you'll understand it a bit better. You shim each side using the 4 spider gears as a reference for how tight its getting. The goal is to remove all play from the spider gears but not add any preload.

 

Ah gotcha, sounds good. I'll try to crack it open soon enough and we'll see what I'll be looking at! Thanks for the tips guys

 

When you put the differentiual back together you will have to stick the axles in both sides to line up the splines before you start to tighten the bolts. If you don't then you will not be able to get the axles in after you put it all back together.

 

Thanks for the tip!

And where can I find bearings for the 9 bolt? I've searched everywhere, but the only source I can find is 9bolt.com; a bearing set shipped from them in Australia is $245! Anything cheaper?

 

Randy's Ring & Pinion has installation kits and parts for the 9 bolt.

 

Also ratechmfg.com has parts. For instructions google this exactly "bw 9-bolt positraction repair". You'll see a pdf at geocities. Print it. It's a great set of instructions with pics and specs. etc.

 

Gotta use that search feature! Here is a thread i did about a year ago when i rebuilt my 9 bolt. If you find the stuff for less your lucky.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tran...urces-9-a.html

Also as noted in that thread...the rebuild kit came with a crappy pinion seal that leaked before it even made it into the car. Autozone has the correct Timken pinion seal.

Also going to add that if you need a hand rebuilding the posi let me know. I rebuilt my posi with new cones and then had a buddy of mine in MA set up the whole rear end with the new bearings.