Where the hell are the carrier shims?

pektel

pektel

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So, I'm getting frustrated. Nobody, not even the dealer, can get me an adjustable shim kit for the diff swap. Oh, they have plenty available for an 8.8" rear end, but nothing for the 8.0".

So my question is, can I get the adjustable shim kit for the 8.8" rear end, and use it for my application?

I've exhausted every resource in my town. The only thing the dealer is able to provide is a shim, as long as I can give them an exact shim size. That doesn't do me one bit of good since I need to tear the diff down first to see what size shims I need. Hopefully I can just reuse the ones in there now, but I'm not counting on it.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
If the shim packs are a smaller dia then the 8.8 ones I would just pressure pack them on the lathe and turn them down to 8.0 dia. Thats if you just can't find any adjustable 8.0 ones. Goodluck let us know.
 
See I don't know whether they are a different diameter or not. I was just thinking that since the carriers are damn near identical in size, maybe the carrier shims would be identical too.
 
I thought I read that a 8.8 posi unit works in a 8.0 rear. So most likely the shims are same size but you know Ford they change stuff for no reason all the time. If you can get the OD size of a 8.0 one I have many 8.8 ones we can compare sizes.
 
Right. The locking diff I have is from an 8.8" rear end. The LS rear end is 8.0". The carriers are the same size. I just need to reuse the ring and pinion from the 8.0". I've never torna rear end down before, so I have no idea if the diameter of the shims would be the same if the carrier is the same size. Gears are all staying the same.
 
I'll see if I can find someone with that information. I haven't done any of the work yet, so I have no idea on the diameter.
 
If they use the same bearing you should be fine with the 8.8 shim pack. You should not have a problem on the diff side of things, because the bearing snout on the diff will be the same, otherwise it wouldn't work. The place you could have a problem is on the race. If the 8.0 is a smaller overall bearing, the shims might not fit in the pocket behind the race. See if you can check the part numbers for the bearings and get some info from them.
 
Thanks guys for your help. I didn't remember any mention of the shims in ILLS's thread, so I didn't bother to check.

Just placed the order for the shim kit. Should be here Thursday :D
 
Ring and pinion gears are VERY easy to F up if you get the clearance wrong by even a hair. If I were you I'd take the whole assembly out of the car, and take it to a shop to have them install the carrier for you, unless you have a couple high quality caliper gauges and the proper jigs to hold them where they need to be.
 
My brother in law is a mechanic. He's never compared the 2 rear ends before, so he didn't know if the shims would work. We do have all the proper tools, including a dial indicator.

What he plans on doing is removing the pumpkin, and doing all the work on the bench. then reinstalling.
 
pektel said:
My brother in law is a mechanic. He's never compared the 2 rear ends before, so he didn't know if the shims would work. We do have all the proper tools, including a dial indicator.

What he plans on doing is removing the pumpkin, and doing all the work on the bench. then reinstalling.
Click to expand...

great advice.... who gave you that one?
 
hehe... thanks man. That's going to make the job a whole lot easier I'm sure. At least this way I can really see what's going on, and learn a ton about tearing down/setting up a rear end.
 
yeah.... sorry I diddnt know the shim were the same size... I got my shim kit from a tranny shop who just looked it up and handed them over
 
All good. Now the information will be common knowledge, so it was worth trying to track down the information.
 
ILLS did the work... I'm not sure where it is but it can be done. You need the first gen axles.
 
and Pete comes through with link! You're like the clutch player who always comes up with a hit when the team needs a run.
 
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