An inexpensive and easy fix for the engineering oversight, present in single alternator Superduties, where the upper radiator hose passes through the serpentine belt.

Click Photos to see Larger Images.

Tires (Fall is the best time to change to snow tires.)

• Check spare and insure you can remove it from its mounting without any problems. If the spare cannot be removed, now is the time to find out and repair it.
• Insure all tires can be removed from vehicle with minimal effort. Tires with rims that are stuck to the hub should be freed. Clean hub and rim with a wire brush and apply never seize to the interface. Re-mount rim and tire.

This installation was performed on my fathers F-250.  It is equipped with a Dana 50 solid axle.  Dear old Dad found that the work he was doing with his truck and the roads around his area were a bit more than a standard equipped 4x4 could handle.  He gave lengthy thought to his problem and opted for a front limited slip differential upgrade.  

The procedure should be identical on a Dana 60 in a '99 and up Super Duty. However, the pre-'99 Dana 50's and 60's are completely different as regards the wheel bearing and hub/rotor design. However, the steps for setting up the bearings and clearances are the same for all differentials, all model years, all makes, whether front or rear.

It is not the intention of this article to be a complete how-to; rather, it outlines basic procedure, and it assumes that the person setting up the ring and pinion has some experience with gears or has access to the factory service manual.

Required Tools and Equipment: To perform this a few pieces of equipment will be necessary.  

·        Oil drain pan

·        Jack and jack stands

·        Pry bar

·        BFH (Big &*^%$% Hammer)

·        1/2" drive metric, standard, sockets and wrenches

·        Torque wrench

·        Metric Allen Wrenches

·        Snap ring pliers

·        Bearing collar

·        Hydraulic press or 2-jaw bearing puller with a 6" or longer reach and spread

·        Dial indicator with adjustable magnetic base

·        6" caliper and 0"-1" micrometer (all graduated to .001" or better)

·        RTV silicone

·        Anti-seize

·        Gear oil

·        Differential installation shim kit

·        A clean indoor place to work while the differential is out of the truck.

·        If you have ever wanted an oil drain plug, now is the time to do it.  I installed a 1/4" pipe plug, with a recessed Allen head, This way it would be flush with the housing.

Procedure:

Set parking brake and chock rear wheels.

Loosen wheel lug nuts (13/16") on both sides.

Jack up the front of the truck and support it with jack stands under the axle.

Remove both tires, and set them under the hubs to act as a spacer in case the truck was to fall off the stands.

Starting on the driver's side, Remove the two 21mm bolts that attach the brake caliper to the axle.  Set the caliper to rest on the leaf spring.  It is a good idea to bungee cord the caliper in place, this way it will not fall off and possibly damage the rubber brake line.  Then, take a block of wood and place it against the rear rotor surface for cushioning purposes.  Strike the wood with a hammer to remove the rotor from the studs.  Now remove the snap ring that  is holding the locking hub in place. (It's ends can be seen in the photo above.) The locking hub will now come out with some wiggling and tapping.

Next, remove the snap ring around the axle.

Then, the washers behind the snap ring.

Remove the four 21mm nuts on the back/inside of the steering knuckle. The two lower ones can be seen just below the tie rod. Then remove the 8mm hex bolt and the 5mm Allen bolt that hold on the ABS line.

Now pull the entire hub assembly out of the knuckle, and while your there, you can try to figure out how you are supposed to grease these wheel bearings!  Go Figure…  Once the assembly is removed you can remove the brake shield.

These axles do not have spindles, so this is what the hub assembly will look like when the hub is disassembled.  Place the pry bar behind the knuckle, with the end in the U-joint, and pry slightly to slide the axle out through the knuckle.

If you put everything in order as you took it off, the removed items will look something like this. Repeat the above procedure for the passenger's side. The steps are the same except that it is not necessary to remove the tie rod from the knuckle.

Remove 15mm bolt/18mm nut that secures the steering stabilizer. Then, the 21mm nut from the tie rod end at the knuckle.  Then, strike the knuckle very hard until the tie rod comes out. Next, remove the ten bolts on the differential cover. Nine of them are 14 mm., the one by the U-bolt plate is an 8 mm (5/16") Allen. (Notice the tires stacked carefully out of the way in the background.) It is a good idea to partially re-insert two of the bolts at the 3 o-clock and 9 o-clock positions. This will keep the cover from falling off and making a tremendous mess when the oil drains.  Put the drain pan under the differential, and gently pry the cover loose until the oil begins to drain out.  Wait until the draining is slowed, then remove the cover completely.

With the cover off, set up the dial indicator and measure the backlash of the ring gear.  This is the amount of free play between the ring gear and the pinion.  To do this, place the tip of the dial indicator as close to 90 degrees square with the tooth as possible.  Take all your readings at the same position on the tooth. Gently push the gear up by hand until you feel it just barely contact the pinion, note the reading, then gently rotate the gear down until it contacts the pinion, note the reading again, and subtract one from the other. The difference is the backlash. The factory backlash on this unit was .008". Consider anything between .005" and .012" to be acceptable.

Using a punch or chisel, mark the bearing caps so you can reinstall them in their original locations. It is necessary that they are marked for left, right, top and bottom.  This is because the axle housing is line bored with the caps in place during manufacture. The photo right left shows where I stamped an "X" on the right hand cap and on the housing where the cover mates. After marking the caps, gently loosen the bolts in small increments.  Then, remove the bolts and caps.  Although the differential is usually a tight fit and will usually remain in place when the caps are removed, be careful because it could fall out as there is nothing holding it in. If it is stuck in place and an assistant is handy, have them rotate the front drive shaft.  This will help push the differential out of the case. If not, use the pry bar to work the unit out. The differential weighs about 40 lbs, be ready for it when it comes out. Once removed, be sure to keep the bearing races coupled with their respective caps.  This way they can go back in their original locations.  That is unless new bearings are going to be installed.

Place the unit on a sturdy bench and gently loosen the ring gear bolts in small increments using a criss-cross pattern. When all the bolts are out, tap around the edge of the gear with a punch or chisel until the gear separates from the case.

Set up the bearing collar and puller (or press) and remove the bearings from the carrier.  ***Take care not to tighten the collar so much that it damages the shims.  Removing the bearings from the old differential is necessary even if new bearing will be installed on the new differential.  This is due to the need to measure the shims that are placed under the bearing.  Once the bearing is removed, measure the combined thickness of all the shims under the bearing with a micrometer and write that measurement down.  Keep the shims together with a wire tie, and label them as to which side they were on.  One set will be from the gear side and the other will be on the side the gear wasn’t on. Accurate measurements and accurate notes are essential at this step. Inaccurate measurements or mixing up the shims will make setting up the backlash during reinstallation very, very difficult.

The new Tru-Trac Differential is pictured here on the left and the old differential on the right. Notice that there are several differences in their dimensions, for instance: The flange where the ring gear bolts is much thicker on the new unit, The area the bearing presses onto is taller (requiring a wider bearing to be used.) although the ID and OD of the bearings is the same, and the distance from the gear mounting flange to the shoulder where the bearing seats is about 1/4" less on the new unit.(The old bearings were .914" wide, the new ones 1.072", measured with the bearing in the race.) The purpose of all of these measurements and calculations is to insure when the ring gear is bolted to the new case and both bearings are installed into the axle housing, that the ring gear is in the same exact position (within 2 or 3 thousandths of an inch) relative to the pinion as before it was removed. For reference, a sheet of paper is about .003", a fine strand of hair .001".

That is, on the gear side, A1+C1+D1=A2+C2+D2 and on the back side B1+C1+E1=B2+C2+E2, and D2 and E2 are unknown. By rearranging the formula to find the unknowns it becomes D2= (A1+C1+D1)-(A2+C2) and E2= (B1+C1+E1)-(B2+C2).

D2= (A1+C1+D1)-(A2+C2)

So, on the gear side the original distance is 4.236+.914+.029=5.179. Next,find A2+C2, 4.000+1.072=5.072. Subtracting 5.072 from 5.179 leaves .107" in shims which need to be added to the new gear side. This is the total thickness of the new shims, not the amount to be added to the old shims. (Not .029+.107)

E2= (B1+C1+E1)-(B2+C2)

On the back side, 1.122+.914+.056=2.092.

On the back side the original distance is 1.122 +.914+.056=2.092 and 1.016+1.072=2.088. 2.092-2.088=.004" of shim for the new back side.

After checking and rechecking all the measurements and calculations, the new shims were put on the proper bearing journals, and the bearings were pressed into place.

The ring gear is then bolted to the new case. If for some reason the gear is a tight fit, it can be heated in an oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for not more than 30 minutes.  This will allow the gear to expand enough so that it can be installed correctly.  When the gear is hot align it quickly with the bolt holes in the case, before it cools. Once cool, use Locktite 272 (Red) on the bolts, then in stages gradually tighten the bolts in a criss-cross pattern to the proper torque.

Now is the “moment of truth.”  Install the differential in the axle, torque the bearing caps to specs, and measure the backlash. This one came out at .008". (It does not always come out so good!) If the backlash is out of specs, that is, less than .005" or more than .012", it will be necessary to remove the differential again, remove both bearings, and adjust the amount of shims on each side. To increase backlash, remove shims from the back side and add to the gear side. (This moves the ring gear farther from the pinion.) To decrease it, remove shims from the gear side and add to the back side.  (This moves the ring gear closer to the pinion.)

Re-install the axles and hubs. (Don't neglect to to liberally apply anti-seize to every nut and bolt that is exposed to the elements.)  Paint the cover, fill the unit with oil, bolt on some tires, and go four wheeling!  

The End

The First Article illustrates installation of an inexpensive flashing LED that may help keep away the all too prevalent smash and grab thief.

Flashing Security Light

The Second Article is yet another article in a series of three from Jonathan Ryan, AKA Swamp donkey. This article is a semi-detailed illustration of the installation of a Detroit Tru-Trac Limited Slip Differential into the Front Axle of a 1999 F-250 Superduty.

Front Differential Limited Slip

Howdy all,

Unfortunately, the articles archive that I have been working with has started to dry up. I have utilized most of the articles and fear I may have to dip into my emergency supply if there are no further submissions. I currently have a few left to work with before drought emergency conditions are implemented.

Those interested: I am seeking articles that will be of current concern to any Ford-Diesel Owner. Please contact me before writing any article as we would hate to see you rehash something already done. That is unless you are specifically attempting to update an article already present on the site. We are happy to take any updates you may have.

Editor Email

I have also had a bunch of interested people that I will be contacting about promised articles. Unfortunately, none have been delivered yet.

Instead I leave you with this threat... I may be forced to write about my truck or myself if submissions do not increase. So I hold that over your collective heads. NO SUBMISSIONS-then you get-ANDERSON STORIES... Its your call... :)

Take Care All and work on those articles...

An Article that helps bring the complex fly-by-wire technology of the Powertrain Control Module down to earth for the rest of us to understand.

Author's Bio:
Terry is the mechanical training instructor for high horsepower diesel locomotive engines. These engines use both mechanical and electronic fuel controls. He teaches apprentices and journeymen on existing, as well as new technology. Terry has worked with diesel engine technology for 35 years, and was trained by American Bosch, Roosamaster and Simmonds factory instructors while in the U. S. Army. After leaving the military, Terry worked for several years rebuilding aircraft fuel controls for reciprocating and turbine engines before joining the ranks at the Santa Fe Railroad, Amtrak and currently, Metra Commuter Rail in Chicago, Illinois. Terry currently owns and drives a 1999.5 Super Duty F250 PSD.

Old water pump analysis:

I removed the weep hole cover on the old pump and found that the seal had been leaking. Premature pump seal failure is fairly common with these trucks. Possible reasons include poor seal quality control, excessive FW-16 levels, coolant contamination (water with high mineral content), or cooling system contamination (high casting sand content).

I will venture a guess my pump failed due to excessive SCA concentration. When tested, SCA's were at the high end of normal. In the future, I'll attempt to run at the low end of normal SCA levels. (2.0-2.5)

I also installed a coolant filter, shown at right, to combat some of the conditions that would lead to premature pump failure. I recommend using any brand of filter as long as it does not contain SCA charge (filter has no units of SCA).

I obtained my filter and base mount from my local International dealer. I found the brass fittings I needed at the local Home Depot. I fabricate a mounting bracket from a piece of 1/8" thick metal that I mounted to the inside fender. As you can see, there is not much room to put the filter.

For more on what a coolant filter can do for your truck reference this article here