sa7

iTrader: (13)

I had to swap the diff in my 79 with gslse rear end. I read on the forum a while back that someone put studs in the rear and housing to help with install. This was a great idea, I would probably not have gotten the diff back in otherwise, having to find the bolt holes with the car on jack stands (very little space) would’ve been a pain in the a$$.. studs definitely made it easier. The only spot I didn’t put a stud was where the long bolt goes in.

Here’s a couple pics to show what it looks like and a pic of the Dorman part number for the studs I used, if anyone cares to do the same..

peejay

I did it not to help with install but because I kept pulling the threads out of the housing.

I used 10.9 Allen bolts of a certain length, and washers, threaded in from the inside. Washers were because there was raised metal around each hole from when they were tapped at the factory and washers was a lot easier than trying to file/scrape the surface flush. Apply sealant to the threads to prevent leakage. I still had to use two bolts because of the one long bolt, and the position 180 degrees from that one because the housing vent was in the way of getting the bolt in.



I can't say it made it easier to R&R because you can't rotate the pumpkin anymore to break it loose or wedge it in, but I stopped pulling bolts out or finding them going missing.

elwood

iTrader: (1)

Your studs are a little too short for the nyloc retainer to work properly. General fastener rules say you want 3 threads extending from the end of the fastener. The reason is that fastener specs generally allow the first 1 or 2 threads on an externally threaded fastener to be undersized to aid economical manufacture.

. . . but with proper torque, you're probably OK (the nyloc feature is a belt-and-suspenders). I wouldn't change anything -- this is info for future reference.