Rebuilding 12 bolt

[ebaby35]

Just wondering if anyone has rebuilt there own 12 bolt and the difficulty involved. Is this something that can be done yourself to save money or does it have to be done by a shop?

[bhemingson]

Originally Posted by ebaby35

Just wondering if anyone has rebuilt there own 12 bolt and the difficulty involved. Is this something that can be done yourself to save money or does it have to be done by a shop?

Unless you have the tools to set clearances and pinion depth etc. and are used to working with setting tolerances I would not do it myself. However, if you do the grunt work and take the rear end to the shop so it's a bench job you could probably save some money.

[ebaby35]

what would be considered the grunt work?

[ct67_72]

Originally Posted by bhemingson

Unless you have the tools to set clearances and pinion depth etc. and are used to working with setting tolerances I would not do it myself. However, if you do the grunt work and take the rear end to the shop so it's a bench job you could probably save some money.

This.

rebuilding a differential properly takes specialty tools and experiance.
If you are only changing bearings and seals its not quite as bad as replacing components like the gears or carrier. You sill still have ot be able to measure and adjust preload on the bearings and at minimum check the backlash and gear pattern.
For the cost of a mistake, its generally less to have someone do it.

[demian5]

I have a guy in Lake Forest that does them on the side. Something like that I want it done by a tech that does it all day.

[demian5]

Oh and there is someone offering a complete rear end rebuilt with new bearings, ring and pinion and brakes in OC CL for $900 exchange.

[RustyBucket]

Some shops rebuild 'em in the truck and some would rather do them on the bench. The "grunt work" is removing, transporting and re-installing the rear end. Old U-bolts n' stuff put up a pretty good fight sometimes.