Motive Gear RA310RMKT Ford 8 Inch Master Bearing Kit

This is a complete master bearing kit for the Ford 8-inch rear differential, the removable-carrier axle found under a long run of 1960s and 1970s Ford and Mercury cars. It carries the wear parts you replace any time the third member comes apart: Timken tapered carrier bearings and races, front and rear pinion bearings and races, a pilot bearing, a new pinion seal, pinion nut, crush sleeve, carrier shims, cover gasket or O-ring, ring gear bolts, gear-marking compound and a brush. It works with a factory open carrier or a limited-slip unit.

Pull the center section when the axle whines under load or on coast, growls on corners, or sheds bearing material into the gear oil. Worn carrier and pinion bearings let the pinion walk, which chews up the gear pattern and eventually the ring and pinion itself. If you are swapping gear ratios, reusing the old bearings is the usual reason a fresh set of gears starts howling a few thousand miles later, so a master kit is the right buy whenever the pinion comes out.

With the third member on the bench, press out the old races and bearings, set pinion depth with the shims, and install the new crush sleeve. Tighten the pinion nut in small steps until you reach rotating preload, then set carrier bearing preload and backlash and check the pattern with the marking compound. Install the new pinion seal last and torque the ring gear bolts to spec. A dial indicator and an inch-pound torque wrench make the setup go faster. Verify your axle is the Ford 8-inch (not the 8.8 or 9-inch) before ordering.