I'm sending it out to be put together but at least I got it all apart. I called Dave with a problem I had getting the axle shaft out. Turns out the steering has to be pretty damn straight to get the shaft out. Here's some pics.





Looks like someone has been in the pumpkin before. I don't think the orange is a factory gasket.





One full blazer packed going to Marks place. It has my nine inch in it as well so he can set-up the gears and stuff for that as well.

Your making me want a garage I can leave my shit disassembled in! Looks good man, nothing like semi-last minute mods.

it's sweet leaving my tuff like that. I can't imagine doing stuff in the carport again.

It's back together and on wheels. When the hubs are unlocked, the wheels spin nicely (better than before). When I engage even one hub, it's like the brakes are dragging. I can also see the other shaft spinning the same directions. I'm almost certain that this is normal but I figured I'd post up. The drag is from the clutches, right? I'll post pics but really, there's not much to show. I got a spring from Mark for the stub shaft retaining and tacked on the yoke to the shaft. Re-installed and now i'm waiting 24 hr's to put fluid in to try and let the silicone cure before "testing it"

I got some cheap ($5 a quart) gear oil for break in. I also didn't have the stuff on hand to do a drain plug so I'll be using my vaccum pump to change the fluids most likely. The challenge being, driving that much before the trip. Also, used gears probably don't need the same amount of break-in, right?

Don't forget you need the friction modifier in there too. The friction you feel is the gears, drive shaft, and seals, and is normal. Now if you want to feel the clutches lock in both wheels and leave 1 on the ground while turning the other, should be really hard if not imposible to turn.

When I had my gears swapped (including a new trac-lok) the guy told me that they had to be broken in because the ring and pinion has a coating on it from the factory that leads to excess friction/heat. He said to go easy on them (no high revving) to help the heat stay down and prevent the fluid from burning up and damaging the gears until the coating wears off and you can get direct oil-to-gear contact. After having them swapped I used to get out and put my hand on the diff after a lot of driving and the damn thing would nearly burn me. I kept doing that and each trip the diff would be cooler and cooler until it wasn't very hot anymore, then I changed the fluid around that time.

And like Toy Keeper said, you do need need friction modifier for the trac-lok. This is what helps the clutches slip when there are slight difference between the tire speeds on dry pavement. Without FM's you'll get gear chatters and squeaks when going around turns. For mine, I use Redline 75w90 which already has the friction modifiers built in-- never had an gear chatter and my LSD seems to work wonderfully. Though it is a little spendy-- luckily it only takes a couple quarts.

I wouldn't worry about breaking in the front gears... they're already done. Also with the hubs locked (with your new locker) on the road would bring the suck. My front is getting it's last oil change until I sink it or break it....

I already bought some friction modifyer stuff earlier today. I'll do both axles up and drive them around the same and try and swap all the fluid right before we leave. Got the big girl out of the garage, cleaned up toosla dn junk and then pulled her in. Time to work on the ass.

I can't find a single ford 9" axle build anywhere. I know I'm retarded but damn, that's hard to believe.

I hear that chexmix guy has built these before....

I wouldn't worry too much about front break in. Just run it around town as much as you can and change the fluid, but as others pointed out its going to be fun with lockers front and rear. Without a drain plug it doesnt help a ton anyways since its hard to suck the shavings out of the very bottom of the diff. It makes you feel any better I never once changed the gear oil in my TTB after having the 4.10s installed (Im not proud of it) and I'm still running those gears in my SA 44 now...

If the gears were installed correctly, then there shouldn't be ANY shavings. The coating will just wear off the gears and make the fluid murky/milky. If there are shavings at the bottom of the diff then the backlash was definitely not set correctly. I suppose it's possible that there would be some very small shavings but this stuff should be so small that the gears would just grind it into powder and mix it into the fluid.

if there's one thing about this it's that i'm not worried about it. Broken in, fluid changed or not, i'm going.

There's supposed to be some small shavings, but nothing big that the gears can't eat up. IF you really want to get those gears moving, run it in 4x4 but leave the hubs unlocked. It'll get the chunk spinning and won't bind on the road. Its really not a big deal on the front though, they're hardly used. BUT before you hit the con I'd have them turning for a little. Just personal preference.

I'll be running like that for sure for as much as I can. A little of them locked as well so I can make sure it doesn't explode the first mile.

There's no "coating". It's simply friction from two separately machined peaces of metal coming together. Gears are lapped as pairs by the manufacturer (that's why you never mix and match). But when you install them in your truck they go through a second hardening where any imperfections are press down or scrapped away. But if your oil gets too hot, it will break down and the metal gear will soften leading to eventual failure. This is why when you break new gears in, there are shavings even after lapping. Normal use will still create some minor shaving, using a magnet fill plug (like the 8.8s) helps collect them.