Strage Axle Rear-End Build Up
Written by Eric Hartman Tuesday, 23 May 2000 18:00
Drivetrain
When building the kind of power we are planning for DeepFreeze, the rest of the combination must be up to the task. 700+hp will put a lot of stress on the rest of the car. The tranny and the rear end must be able to get the power to the wheels or it will be wasted. With the power comes faster ET’s and this also means complying with the NHRA rules. We plan on running much faster than 10.99 so DeepFreeze requires aftermarket axles and axle retention devices (i.e., c-clip eliminators). We chose to go with a Strange Lightweight Pro Race spool (33 spline), Strange Pro Race 33 spline axles, c-clip eliminator kit, and 3" x ½" studs. This is axle package P-2000 and retails for $619.00. The axles came with the c-clip eliminators assembled. Jeff Stange at Strange Engineering says this is common when ordering the axle package. We chose to go with the spool because the car will see mainly track duty and any street driving will be mostly cruising. Excessive street driving with a spool will result in uneven tire wear. This is because the two axles are permanently locked together by the spool.When comparing the new axle kit to the old stock components, all you can say is "wow!". The 33 spline axles make the stock ones look tiny...definitely a greater piece of mind.
The spool is also much simpler than the stock Trac-Lok and has a lot less parts to fail (the spool is a single piece).
The c-clip eliminators are much sturdier and will provide more strength than small stock c-clips.
And the 3" studs make the stock ones look ridiculously short. With the thicker mounting surface on the Draglites, a longer stud is required by the NHRA rules.
To install the Strange axle package, you will need a variety of tools:
· jack, jack stands
· socket set
· WD-40 or some sort of liquid wrench
· pan to catch gear oil
· 7/16-inch wrench or vise-grips
· hacksaw or reciprocating saw
· gear oil (I used synthetic 75W-90)
· hammer/prybar
· large flat screwdriver
· grinder and Dremel or just a small round file and a larger flat file
· sandpaper and scraper
· Thread-lok or Loctite
· magnetic dial indicator (for backlash)
· shims
· lots of cloths
Axles/c-clip eliminators
Removal
1. Start off by jacking up the back of the car and securely place it on jack stands.
2. Remove the wheels.
3. Remove the brake drum, it maybe frozen on and need to be hammered off.
4. Remove the differential cover (½-inch bolts):
- loosen all of the bolts
- take off the bottom 5
- push a screwdriver in the bottom and pry a bit to start draining
- take out 2 more bolts and drain some more
- take off the rest of the bolts and remove the cover and set aside
5. Remove the pin bolt (5/16-inch bolt). Rotate the axles and the pin should basically slide out.
6. Rotate so the housing so you can push or pull off the c-clips:
- push the axles into the center
- use a screwdriver and push off the c-clips or you can use a magnet and pull them off
- pull out the axles
Preparation
1. Soak the brake line and the bolt that connects to the backing plate with WD-40 if it is rusty or old. Undo this bolt with the 7/16-inch wrench or use the vise-grips. Make sure it is not frozen and the brakes lines aren’t twisting. If they do start to twist, spray some more lubricant and tap the line/bolt. On DeepFreeze one side worked fine and the other one needed a bit more work. Plug the end of the brake line if you have something handy...you will lose some brake fluid otherwise.
2. Unbolt the backing plate studs/nuts (9/16-inch) and remove them.
3. Pull off the backing plate. You may need to hammer it off.
4. Stuff a cloth into the axle tube to prevent anything from going in. Pry out the old bearings and seals (do not do this if you are not using c-clip eliminators). It was a pain getting them out and they required some excessive force with a hammer and prybar.
5. Keep the cloth in the housing, saw off the snout with whatever saw you choose. We went with the electrical saw because...well, we have one.
6. Using a file or a grinder, get the edge flat and smooth.
7. Use a file or Dremel to remove all of the burrs on the inside of the axle tube. Pull out the cloth and clean off all of the debris.
8. Clean off the backing plate for the gasket surfaces. I scraped it with a screwdriver and then sanded it down with sandpaper.
9. Install the studs into the new axles. They are long and have to be threaded in with a ¾-inch socket. My advice...get a drink, sit down and start wrenching. It’s not hard, just takes a while.
Installation
1. If you do not have c-clip eliminators, just reinstall the axle and clip on the c-clips. If you do have c-clip eliminators...follow below.
2. On the axle, after the c-clip eliminator, put on one of the gaskets and slide the axle through the backing plate and into the axle tube. Position the other gasket on the end of the axle tube...with the bit of a lip, it just sits there.
3. Guide the axle in until you feel it hitting the spool/Trac-Lok. Twist the axle until the splines line up and it slides in.
4. Line up the studs from the c-clip eliminators with the first gasket, the backing plate, the second gasket, and the housing end. Watch the clearance of the c-clip eliminator on some of the brake parts...it is a tight squeeze. This part is a lot easier if you can get someone to help you line everything up.
5. Slip one washer over each stud and assemble the 3/8-inch nuts. Make sure everything is seated properly and torque it down to 30 ft-lbs.
6. Put the differential cover back on and tighten all of the bolts. Fill the differential with a pump.
7. Put the brake drums and the wheels on and let the car down.
Spool
1. When you first get the spool, get new bearings pressed on. You can reuse your old ones but everything else is new so why be cheap. I used Federal Mogul A-36 and had them pressed on at my tranny shop.
2. Start off by jacking up the back of the car and securely place it on jack stands.
3. Remove the wheels.
4. Remove the brake drum, it maybe frozen on and need to be hammered off.
5. Remove the differential cover (½-inch bolts):
- loosen all of the bolts
- take off the bottom 5
- push a screwdriver in the bottom and pry a bit to start draining
- take out 2 more bolts and drain some more
- take off the rest of the bolts and remove the cover and set aside
6. Remove the pin bolt (5/16-inch bolt). Rotate the axles and the pin should basically slide out.
7. Rotate so the housing so you can push/pull the c-clips off:
- push the axles into the center
- use a screwdriver and push off the c-clips or you can use a magnet and pull them off
- pull out the axles
8. Unbolt the bearing caps which hold the Trac-Lok in place (3/4-inch bolt). Pull out the unit, there will be a bunch of shims on either side.
9. Unbolt the ring gear from the Trac-Lok and install it on the spool. It didn’t really want to go on, I had to use some pressure and some gear oil and it finally went on with some pressure.
10. Clean off the ring gear bolts and apply Thread-lok to each bolt before you thread it in. Tighten them down as much as you can (won't be too tight).
11. Install the spool, be careful because it’s heavy. You might want a hand because it is awkward lying under the car trying to position the unit. Don't forget the shims
12. Reinstall the bearing c-clamps.
13. Tighten all of the ring gear bolts.
14. Adjust the backlash and install the appropriate shims. Depending on your application, you will want different backlash settings (more details in a little while).
15. Reinstall the axles (see above).
16. Put the differential cover back on and tighten all of the bolts. Fill the differential with the required amount of fluid, you need a hand pump to pump the fluid in.
17. Put the brake drum and the wheels on and let the car down.
The axle package adds a bunch of much needed strength to the rear end. Considering I have never really worked on the differential of a car before, this was actually pretty easy. As long as you have everything ready to go, it is a good afternoon project. The main concern is the backspacing. Most people recommend leaving it to the experts but I am going to attempt if for everyone to see how difficult it really is. I should have something about the backlash up in a little while. You also need to be able to fill the diff with fluid so don't forget about that!
Source
Strange Engineering
1611 Church Street
Evanston, Illinois 60201
(847) 869-7010
