trax

iTrader: (2)

I'm building a 9-inch pretty much from scratch, and I'm trying to install the pilot bearing. Do I need a press to get it in, or is there some trick to it? I didn't have much luck tapping it in with a rubber mallet.




EDIT -- Here's a question about assembling the pinion:

I had the Daytona bearing pressed on the pinion at a machine shop. After I mount it in the pinion support and slide in the crush sleeve, should I also use a press to install the outer pinion bearing, or can I just put the yoke over it and tap it on with a plastic hammer?

Any tips? Thanks guys!

chicane

I think you need to throw away your rubber and plastic hammers.

The spigot bear can be installed with a standard aluminum driver and a metal hammer... like a mini sledge.

The pinion bearing can be installed by a press or by using a mini sledge and tapping it on with the yoke. You can also 'gun' it on if you have a compressor and an good impact like an IR2131.

trax

iTrader: (2)

I'm definitely starting to realize that. This is my first time installing bearings on anything, so I've been a bit paranoid about what I can strike with conviction. Once I switched to a hammer with some mass, they both went on with a couple mild hits.

On a related note, for all the other new guys like me who are trying to fill the gaps in James Oxley's article, I found part of a Ford service manual on BroncoHQ.com with the "official" 9-inch rebuild procedure: http://broncohq.com/dmp-6677CH.html and click on "Ford 9-inch shop instructions".

chicane

Cool beans... Im glad you got it done without issue.

Good article. I wish there was a place we could post reference articles like this so that everyone could use it without having to dig thru threads looking for this.