best way to remove a 40 ford rear end

[gringo]

i need to remove the original rear end from a 40 ford sedan for a change of gears and was hoping to find out the best way to do it, can i seperate it fom the tube right at the rear end and drop it out with the spring that way and leave the tube and rods on the car?, also what is needed to remove the spring? can i seperate the pack and then get the main off or is a special tool needed?thanks for any help offered.

[tiquer]

Pull it out assembled tube rods and all. Disconect it from the trans where the u-joint is

[Bassman/NZ]

Yeah, much easier than trying to do it in the car. Remove pack with big G clamps and a length of all-thread rod. Be careful, they pack a punch. The main leaf is easy to handle on its own.

[gringo]

ok, so the whole assembly needs to come out, i was wondering if it would allow me to pull it apart at the rear end but i think it would be a helluva fight trying to that under the car. thanks guys !

[Glenn Thoreson]

The whole thing will come out very easily and can be done by one man. Jack up the car far enough to remove the rear wheels and support the car with jack stands under the frame, just ahead of the wheels. Remove the rear wheels. Disconnect the brake line at the torque tube and disconnect the emergency brake and speedometer cables. Disconnect the rear shock links. Remove the U-joint ball cap, via the 6 bolts. At this point, you need to decide whether you want to remove the assembly with the spring attached or leave the spring in the car. I always leave the spring in the car. It can be very hard to handle if you leave it on the axle. You can easily disconnect the spring from the axle without a spring spreader or any special tools and leave it on the car. With the axle hanging on the spring, place a floor jack under the center of the axle and raise it JUST enough to remove the weight from the spring. You may have to jack one side at a time in difficult cases. When you can determine that no weight is on the spring shackle, remove it, one side at a time. When done with care the shackles will pull right out. With both sides disconnected, roll the whole assembly out from under the car, either on a floor jack or just roll it out on the drums. About 1 1/2 hours for one man who hasn't done it before. Assembly is the reverse. A good time to replace those shackle bushings, too.
If you really want to take it out with the spring attached, you will need a spring spreader to get it off the axle housing. Not nearly as easy as leaving it in there. Two U-bolts clamp the spring to the rear cross member. Kinda long winded post. Good luck.

[Bassman/NZ]

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What Glenn said, except you dont need a spreader to dismantle the spring. I use two 8" G clamps and an 18" length of 3/8" all-thread rod from a hardware store.

[richard crow]

the onley proulbem you might have is the floor board you may have to remove some bolts & jack the floor up to clear the torque tube bell.

[PeteVS]

Originally Posted by Glenn Thoreson

Remove the U-joint ball cap, via the 6 bolts.

There are only 4 nuts that hold the U-joint ball cap.

Also, you HAVE to remove the rear from the car to disassemble it. In order to remove the torque tube from the banjo casting, you have to remove a wire snap ring that holds the speedometer gear in place on the driveshaft. You're in for a long and exciting job that in no way can be done anywhere under the car.

[chuck stevens]

OK, after you do the gear change, and are trying to put the rear end back in, by yourself, it can be a handful. Very hard to move the rear end and line up the u-joint by yourself. I have found those small ratchet straps work great. Use two, one on each side of the axle, out near the brake drums, with the ratchets up near the front of the drive shaft hooked to the frame. You can work the ratchets with one hand and lift the drive shaft with the other.... worked for me, good luck, Chuck S.

[19Fordy]

gringo, Please take plenty of photos and notes about how to change the rear end ring and pinion. I am thinking doing the same and would appreciate the knowledge gained by you. Good luck with your project. Thanks.

[PeteVS]

Here's a link to an excellent thread on the HAMBone on one man's rebuild of a banjo rear.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=462776

(If you're not a member of the HAMB, it's easy to join. In fact, it's probably identical to what you had to do to join here!)

[296 V8]

Originally Posted by Bassman/NZ

Yeah, much easier than trying to do it in the car. Remove pack with big G clamps and a length of all-thread rod. Be careful, they pack a punch. The main leaf is easy to handle on its own.

This^^^
Easiest - fastest - best way to do the spring …. Clean between them all and put it back together.
A large long Phillips head works great in the center hole for alignment as you clamp it back together.

[gringo]

ok some great advise as im getting myself psyched up to do this friday, now glenn was saying the spring can be detached and reinstalled with it mounted in car, will this keep it from pulling in on me? or is it best to just drop the spring out and do it with the clamps? and im just doing the grunt work here, i will be taking the rear to a guy with way more smarts than me to do the gear change lol. thanks

[Mart]

You remove the rear with the spring attached. Then use the clamps to remove all the leaves from the main leaf. You should then be able (with a bit of heave-ho) to remove the main leaf.

Mart.

[Bassman/NZ]

Originally Posted by gringo

ok some great advise as im getting myself psyched up to do this friday, now glenn was saying the spring can be detached and reinstalled with it mounted in car, will this keep it from pulling in on me? or is it best to just drop the spring out and do it with the clamps? and im just doing the grunt work here, i will be taking the rear to a guy with way more smarts than me to do the gear change lol. thanks

Um.... way more smarts? That's OK, but has he done them before? The reason I say this is because there is a lot of knowledge peculiar to a banjo diff that a regular rear end guy wont know unless he's done them (successfully) before. Just one example is... if he taps the bell to banjo threaded holes he will ruin the oil sealing capabilities of those bolts. Another example is... the backlash and preload is set by using specific sized gaskets, another thing that many guys would not know.

[gringo]

ya this guy knows his stuff, he runs an old fashioned speed shop near me thats been there forever.

[Glenn Thoreson]

I don't know why everyone thinks you need to remove the spring from the car. It is not necessary and just makes for more work and frustration. You're not rebuilding the spring, are you? It's not that difficult to remove the rear. I do it by myself all the time and have been doing so for over 50 years. I also don't understand why everyone seems to think it's so difficult to get the U-joint back together. Whatever. I've given my two cents worth. You can choose to ignore it if you wish. I don't post here very often and now I remember why. No matter what I say, it's wrong. Have a nice day..

[gringo]

hey glenn, i really appreciate your directions on this and i will remove it like you said, i did forget to mention that it is a lowered spring not sure if that matters, i will let you know how it goes. thanks again.

[tiquer]

Just one more detail please for all our sakes and yours make dame sure you block that sucker up good. Don`t need any accidents when your working alone on it.

[1931 flamingo]

Spring can be DANGEROUS. If dropping the rear end with spring attached, when out a good idea to wrap a chain around it, or clamp it. Swwt Happens. JMO
Paul in CT