Differential Rebuild or Replace

My last comment was for Pekel.Sorry He mentions that his rear is making noises. If its really bad and something in there breaks free it can be bad. IE rear locking up. If he is short on cash and wants his car quite and safe just change out whole pumpkin. Fast and easy for the first timer.
 
Well I was planning on just having a shop put it together for me, but wanted to make sure I understood the mechanics of the part, so I would know what to replace. Also I am willing to drop a few extra bucks for an upgrade, but not willing to do it if it costs me more then say $300. I just wanted to avoid getting a new drive shaft and axles just so I could get a LSD. Also I don't want to mess with the gear ratio at this time, since it is my daily driver and I am not racing the car. The LSD would be nice for some better traction and more power around turns.

So my real question concern is this... if my rear end noise is just the bearings, and my ring and pinon are still good... then I could just get the LSD and have it swapped out along with replacing the inner bearings. Since I am using the stock gears, and if the mustang LSD fits then I should be good to go right? Just want to make sure I am not missing any major mods I need to make in order for this swap to work... if the stock pumpkin can fit the 8.8 I don't see what I would have to modify.

Am I on the right track with that thinking?

Worst case, my rear is shot and I get a replacement from a junk yard.
 
Right on the Mark said:
My last comment was for Pektel.Sorry He mentions that his rear is making noises. If its really bad and something in there breaks free it can be bad. IE rear locking up. If he is short on cash and wants his car quite and safe just change out whole pumpkin. Fast and easy for the first timer.
Click to expand...

I understood ya.
 
LS_is_my_girlfriend said:
So my real question concern is this... if my rear end noise is just the bearings, and my ring and pinon are still good... then I could just get the LSD and have it swapped out along with replacing the inner bearings. Since I am using the stock gears, and if the mustang LSD fits then I should be good to go right?

Am I on the right track with that thinking?

Worst case, my rear is shot and I get a replacement from a junk yard.
Click to expand...

These are correct statements, if the mustang LSD works. I recommend using a LSD that has already been successfully fitted into the 8.0 diff of the LS to avoid fitment issues.
 
Mechanicboy said:
These are correct statements, if the mustang LSD works. I recommend using a LSD that has already been successfully fitted into the 8.0 diff of the LS to avoid fitment issues.
Click to expand...

I used an 8.8" LSD from a 2005 Mustang GT. Gen 1 V8 LS.
 
pektel said:
I used an 8.8" LSD from a 2005 Mustang GT. Gen 1 V8 LS.
Click to expand...

Then the OP needs to know for sure the spline count of the V6 before he buys a LSD. There seems to be some confusion about this as discussed earlier in this thread. I don't know the answer.
 
I used a 28 spline. I do not know the spline count of the stock v6 diff.

Suppose he could just pull one of the axle shafts to double check first.
 
LS_is_my_girlfriend said:
Okay cool, found this LSD with a quick Google search but don't know if this would fit or not since this is a little outside my normal realm of repairs. http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/item/M4204F288/Mustang-88-28-Spline-Traction-lok-Differential

But after seeing this and viewing some videos about rear differentials I am feeling better about trying to swap this out. My only thing is I don't know the different ratio's and sizes needed for my car... so maybe a shopping list would help. My car is the manual 3.0 with the sport package 17" rims... how would I know if its gen 1 o2 gen 2... the manufacturing date?

You guys rock, love my LS.
Click to expand...

will this one def fit if so im gonna buy it
 
That will work on a gen 1 V8. Does it come with bearings?
 
Cool, I can call the parts dealership I get stuff from to get the stock spline count. Is there any size difference in the pumpkin of the V8 auto vs the V6 manual?
 
Has anyone found a LSD with the inner bearings? Thinking it might be a good idea to find a matching rear end and just swap out my parts.

After looking at the parts... looks like I will spend more on bearings and seals than I did for new LSD.
 
If I were looking for an LSD unit to swap in here, I would be checking out the mustang forums. They upgrade to 31 spline, 9" rears, and get rid of the stock 28 spline lsd units quite often. Just sayin. I believe that's where mine came from. And the beautiful thing about it, is they can come with very low miles on them, so you MAY not need to change out the bearings.
 
I'm glad this topic came up again. I'm dropping in a LSD into my 200 v8 tomorrow and found some more useful info here. I'll post pics afterwards. Also, i'll have a used carrier assembly for sale here after the swap on the cheap if anyone is interested. It makes it much more convenient to have the completed LSD carrier ready to just pop in.
 
I found a rear stock diff with less than 60K miles on it and 3 month guarantee for $350. Going to just swap it out and maybe see if my old diff can be rebuilt with a LSD in a few months when I have more money and time for this. Thanks for all the help on this topic.
 
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