Ripping apart the rear end of my MM

[JohnnyCashMerc]

Well I started my first ever real work on a car yesterday. I'm taking apart my MM's ass end. So far, so good.. for the work that is. Most of the the parts I have taken apart so far were, as I thought Trashed! I can tell my MM was rode hard and put away wet by the last owner. (shame shame :shake:)I have had it for about 8 months now and it has 96,000 miles. Since I got it I knew I was going to have to get into the rear end sooner or later beacuse of the pronounced hum in the ass end. However I didn't know it was gonna be this bad.:violin:

First of all taking off the rear brakes and seeing all the gear oil. I knew I was in trouble. They are caked with it. :puke:

I then followed with taking off the rotors and they also were a mess. I think I will be able to save a little cash there though by cleaning them up and getting them turned. :woohoo:My parking brakes had completely fallen apart from being in that oil so long. The pads were disconnected and stuck to the inside of my rotors lol! So i obviously need new E-brakes too.:depress:

Next I opened the pig and thankfully everything looked nice and clean (no broken teeth or metal in there):D I got the c clips out and pulled the axle shafts out and hoped for the best and ended up with the worst. The passenger side where I heard the most noise was deeply grooved and barings were everywhere but where they should be. :eek: The driver side was kind of warn but at least the barings were in tact. (I'm still replacing both shaft and barings)

This went from being hopefully a $50 to $100 fix to a $400 to $500 fix. At least I know it will be solid when I get done though. (Note: I will spare no expense lol! All American made parts are going back in.) :flag:

ANY JOB WORTH DOING IS WORTH DOING RIGHT!:grad:

Hopefully I'll have it back on the road by spring. Just gotta get all these parts.

[RubberCtyRauder]

Looks like you fell into a ring of fire...lol

Best to do it right, like you said, no sense in doing it partially with it torn down this far. Good luck with rebuild:beer:

[RubberCtyRauder]

Meant to add too, since you have it open this far, not sure if you had plans to do, but would by good time to rebuild trac-lok unit with new clutches etc..i think the kits are around a $100? or so .

[JohnnyCashMerc]

I haven't thought about that. To be honest I don't really know what that is. lol! this is my first ever major repair and I'm going off of forums here, youtube vids, and stuff guys at work tell me. lol! I'll have to look into that more to try to figure it out. Ford racing has the kit for $115. Thanks.

[Vortech347]

How long did you drive on it like that!? My 03' sounded like gravel was in the ass and it wasn't worn a 1/4 that much when the soft axles failed.

[AConvertedChevy]

ANY JOB WORTH DOING IS WORTH DOING RIGHT!:grad:


Amen brother. Get yourself a 31 Cobra Carrier and 31 Spline Axles and never look back.

[JohnnyCashMerc]

Vortech: I got it last April and it always lightly growled. It wasn't til just lay week it sounded like the whole rear end was grinding apart.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[fastblackmerc]

Since your that far into it.... install 4.10's.

[Vortech347]

Vortech: I got it last April and it always lightly growled. It wasn't til just lay week it sounded like the whole rear end was grinding apart.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Good lord. You're lucky nothing else happened. With that much material gone make sure you clean EVERYTHING out. I'd pull the gears and throw 4.10's in just so you can make sure the carrier and pinion bearings are good.

[IwantmyMMnow!]

Since your that far into it.... install 4.10's.


Good lord. You're lucky nothing else happened. With that much material gone make sure you clean EVERYTHING out. I'd pull the gears and throw 4.10's in just so you can make sure the carrier and pinion bearings are good.

..........

[RF Overlord]

Good lord. You're lucky nothing else happened. With that much material gone make sure you clean EVERYTHING out. Quoted for truth. I replaced the axles on Mary's car myself. I thought I got everything clean, but I guess I didn't get it all out of the tubes and they needed to be replaced again 2 years later. Had it done professionally and he pulled and cleaned everything.
I'd pull the gears and throw 4.10's in just so you can make sure the carrier and pinion bearings are good.Since you've got it this far apart, I agree 100%...it makes a world of difference, although you'll need a tune to correct the speedo and the shift points, but you'll LOVE it.

[fastblackmerc]

..........

I hope not....... :down:

[JohnnyCashMerc]

:confused: The 4.10 gears and the 31 spline axles sounds cool, but I have no idea how to tune for these things or even where to start being that i'm totally new to car working this in depth on my car. :coffee: I'll try to look into but not sure if I can do it. Thanks for all the recommendations guys.:thanks:

[Comin' in Hot]

This thread really should be stickied

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=88972

[IwantmyMMnow!]

:confused: The 4.10 gears and the 31 spline axles sounds cool, but I have no idea how to tune for these things or even where to start being that i'm totally new to car working this in depth on my car. :coffee: I'll try to look into but not sure if I can do it. Thanks for all the recommendations guys.:thanks:

You're just a stone's throw from Zack....if anyone is willing to help 'edjumacate' you on your MM, he is. At last year's Louisville meet, someone ran him off the road and his car was a mess....he rebuilt it and put a turbo in it....he's the guy you need to become friends with, and soon.

Here's a link to the thread he just recently posted about rebuilding his MM:

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=91755&highlight=rebuilt

[fastblackmerc]

:confused: The 4.10 gears and the 31 spline axles sounds cool, but I have no idea how to tune for these things or even where to start being that i'm totally new to car working this in depth on my car. :coffee: I'll try to look into but not sure if I can do it. Thanks for all the recommendations guys.:thanks:

You buy a tuner with the tune already installed.

I'd check the ring and pinion, maybe the original owner already installed the 4.10's.

[tbone]

If you're going to go as far as 4.10's, you may as well upgrade to carbon trak lok clutches and a new S spring.

[massacre]

All this talk of doing things right and no one has mentioned buying new rear rotors VS getting them turned?

[tbone]

New slotted/drilled ftw. Ceramic pads.

[fireandice9008]

So far we've got him up to 4.10s and a tune, 31 spline axles, at least rebuilding the carrier, and upgrading the brakes.


I'm just waiting for someone to say since he's this far in he might as well blow it :popcorn:

[jwibbity]

So far we've got him up to 4.10s and a tune, 31 spline axles, at least rebuilding the carrier, and upgrading the brakes.


I'm just waiting for someone to say since he's this far in he might as well blow it :popcorn:
they'll have to stop and bulletproof the trans first :lol:

[Comin' in Hot]

I wouldn't trust any of the bearings in the rear due to metal particles in the oil... it would be foolish to do anything but a total rebuild.

[JohnnyCashMerc]

:hmmm:Well after thinking about it.. I think at this time I think I'm going to just do the basic fix of the outside bearings, axle shafts, brakes, emergency brakes, and rotors and make sure I get everything right. I still have to look and try to figure out if I already have the 4.10's in there already or not like someone had said because when I started taking the pig apart I could tell someone else had been in there before so we'll see. Then after all is said and done and I find out that I did good and gain more confidence then I might rip it down more and go into gears. I will definitely be making sure everything is really cleaned out though before putting everything back together. I'll keep you guys up to date. Hopefully my work is successful. Thank you guys for all the suggestions and input. Now I gotta go get like a case of Brakekleen and start trying to cut this grime on everything back there.:flamer:Wish me luck. I just wanna make sure I get everything I want done by Sept. for Marauderville. I need a money tree :lol:

[lifespeed]

:hmmm:Well after thinking about it.. I think at this time I think I'm going to just do the basic fix of the outside bearings, axle shafts, brakes, emergency brakes, and rotors and make sure I get everything right. I still have to look and try to figure out if I already have the 4.10's in there already or not like someone had said because when I started taking the pig apart I could tell someone else had been in there before so we'll see. Then after all is said and done and I find out that I did good and gain more confidence then I might rip it down more and go into gears. I will definitely be making sure everything is really cleaned out though before putting everything back together. I'll keep you guys up to date. Hopefully my work is successful. Thank you guys for all the suggestions and input. Now I gotta go get like a case of Brakekleen and start trying to cut this grime on everything back there.:flamer:Wish me luck. I just wanna make sure I get everything I want done by Sept. for Marauderville. I need a money tree :lol:

If your time is worth anything do the whole job correctly. Bearings and seal for the carrier is cheap, as are the clutches.

Do it right, or do it over.

[GreekGod]

You can fix it now (a "basic fix"), and do it over again in a year or two, if not done properly. A brake upgrade is not a good idea without a matching front brake upgrade. Nothing wrong with the OEM rear brakes.

The only way to properly clean the interior (AFAIK) is to completely remove the rear end assembly, and pressure wash it. There is a area in the front, behind the pinion, that is very difficult to access for cleaning.

Axles should be changed to 31 splines, with a 31 spline Eaton Detroit Truetrac (no clutch plates to wear out) ... http://www.eaton.com/Eaton/ProductsServices/Automotive/DifferentialsLockingDifferenti als/PCT_317264

A 4.10 ratio is a good upgrade, along with a matching tune from a favored vendor.

I forgot to add - you will also need a new driveshaft (to go with a 4.10 ratio), and a solid pinion spacer kit.

[JohnnyCashMerc]

Thanks to everyone for all your help and great recommedations.:beer: They didnt go unnoticed but I went with the basic fix for now. I just wanted to get it done and make sure I could do it myself. I'm happy to report that I got it all up and running and its like riding on a cloud now.:burnout: I do however want to eventually want to go with those 4.10's just not right now. I have to save up for it. Now I have the confidence to do it so I'm sure I'll be ripping into it again in the future. :2thumbs:

[lji372]

If your going with 410's and a tune you may as well go with a forged lower end and boost. Lordy where will it end :dunno:

I would do exactly what your doing IMHO

It's your $$$$ do what you can afford.

[fastblackmerc]

You can fix it now (a "basic fix"), and do it over again in a year or two, if not done properly. A brake upgrade is not a good idea without a matching front brake upgrade. Nothing wrong with the OEM rear brakes.

The only way to properly clean the interior (AFAIK) is to completely remove the rear end assembly, and pressure wash it. There is a area in the front, behind the pinion, that is very difficult to access for cleaning.

Axles should be changed to 31 splines, with a 31 spline Eaton Detroit Truetrac (no clutch plates to wear out) ... http://www.eaton.com/Eaton/ProductsServices/Automotive/DifferentialsLockingDifferenti als/PCT_317264

A 4.10 ratio is a good upgrade, along with a matching tune from a favored vendor.

I forgot to add - you will also need a new driveshaft (to go with a 4.10 ratio), and a solid pinion spacer kit.

I agree except for the driveshaft upgrade. Not needed unless you are running north of 120MPH for an extended period of time.