As the title states, who here has rebuilt the rear exle on their 7? I just purchased a full gsl-se suspension, and before I put it on the car, I'd like to completely rebuild the rear end. Now, looking at the factory service manual, this looks pretty difficult. I'm not afraid to take my car apart; I've replaced damn near everything and did a lot of fabrication for my turbo setup. Yet theyre using all sorts of special tools, making all sorts of measurements with instruments I've never heard of, and frankly, I'm scared!

Who here has rebuilt their rear end? How difficult was it?

From mazdatrix, I will be getting:

2 axle bearings
2 axle seals
2 bearing spacers
Pinion lock nut
pinion lock nut washer
pinion seal
front pinion bearing
collapsing sleeve
rear pinion bearing

Anything else I need to do the rebuild??

 

This is a great post, since I will be doing the same thing and having the same thoughts. Kill 2 birds with one stone kinda thing. All we need now is some answers

 

I've rebuilt rear's (not 7's) and it's all pretty simple once you start seeing all of the pieces first hand. Just take your time and go step by step... and don't skip steps!!! If you need a flux compacitor to adjust the thingy mcBober, find a flux compacitor.

I'd get an extra collapsing sleve too, just incase.

 

Crush sleeve is a definite in rebuilding the entire diff. You might take a copy of the rebuild section to a local shop and price it. Little mistakes or inaccuracies in the rebuild will cost dearly in the long run.

 

If your gonna tear it down,do it right and do it all.Get all the bearings and inspect/rebuild any worn parts in the LSD too.
The FB rear is pretty easy to setup since it has preload adjusters on the carrier bearings.And the crush sleeve makes it easy to get pinion preload right the first time.
The main kicker is fully understanding the "what and why", while you are setting backlash,pinion depth,pinion preload and carrier preload.Simply following a book's instructions isnt enough if you dont have a grasp of the mechanics of how the rearend works.Its not just two gears meshed together,there are very,very precise tolerences involved and getting it "almost" right wont cut it.

There are 3 basic tools that you cannot be without when doing a rearend....
Dial indicator on a magnetic stand...absolutely cannot do it without....$45-$70
Calipers...get a good digital one,they are great for all kinds of jobs...$30-$50
Torque wrench....a beam style inch/pound wrench is needed for setting the pinion preload....cheap.

Also,hit the Chevy dealer and get a tube of REAL gear marking compound.Its the best and only stuff for reading gear patterns and will save you tons of time compared to guesstimating with Prussian Blue or white lithium grease....its also cheap.

 

Dail Indicator is a good tool to invest in. Like 20$ at Harbor Frieght for one that has a magnet bottom.

 

maaaan this is going to be expensive. I priced out all the bearings, seals, nuts, washers, and whatever, came out to be around $250 at mazdatrix. Looks like I'll need about $100 in tools also.

+$200 for new brake bads
+$100 for SS brake lines
+$100 for new brake master cylinder

haha, and I spent about $225 on the gsl-se suspension. looks like I'm about to go and spend my cars entire worth on parts for it! who needs to stop anyways....

seriously though, I might go and talk to a shop to see if they can do it, and just give them all the parts, so I dont get osme ridiculous markup. Maybe I'll luckout, and someone in the area will have the tools I need, hmmmm...