1968 Ford Torino GT Currie Enterprised Axle Upgrade

The pinion gear housing is separated from the gearcase next. We were careful to set aside the shim found between the pinion housing and main casting so that the original setting for pinion depth is preserved.

Here we see our center section completely disassembled and ready for rebuilding. All old bearings have been removed and discarded. All small parts being reused were submerged in solvent for a thorough cleaning.

The heart of our 8-inch rebuild is the Currie TSD, a 28-spline unit that uses a Ford Traction-Lok bell. The bell has been converted to accept four spider gears instead of the stock two. Also part of the deal is a new Currie nodular iron Traction-Lok cover and all new internals. Part number CE-5023 carries a retail price of $499.95.

Over on the big press the new differential bearings are installed onto both sides. These procedures are a breeze at Currie because they have all of the right sized sleeves and tools at hand. The operator knows that the bearings are seated when the hydraulic pressure sound changes.

Thread locker is used on all important fasteners during reassembly. The ring gear bolts shown here are of particular importance, and the high strength red formula thread locker is used.

The original ring gear is installed onto the new Currie TSD. After seating all of the thread-lock-treated fasteners using an air gun, the bolts are tightened using a torque wrench to 75 ft-lb.

Before the case can be assembled, new pinion bearings must be installed. Again, having the correct selection of helper tools makes the job easy. The press is so powerful that the bearing is seated using great care, carefully listening for any change in the load on the machine.

With the pinion housing assembled, the original shim is placed in between the pinion housing and gearcase. The thickness of this shim determines the depth of the pinion gear within the case, and this dimension of the assembly will be carefully checked, along with backlash and any other considerations.

The bearing races were carefully set into position over the differential bearings and the whole dif-ferential assembly is set back into the saddle of the gearcase. Once seated, the races are supported by adjustable spanner nuts at either end of the differential axis. These are carefully inspected to see that they are properly seated into the threads present in the saddle and main caps.

Next, the differential main caps are installed onto the gearcase. Again, the same careful consideration applies to the proper orientation of the spanned nuts within those threads. The nuts must be able to be rotated and travel freely within the threaded bores, thus providing adjustment for the correct positioning of the differential.

This photo shows the adjustment of the spanner nuts using a dial indicator to reveal the correct positioning of the ring gear relative to the pinion. Backlash will be evaluated, along with pinion depth, using gear marking compound and rotating the gears.

After applying gear marking compound to several ring gear teeth, a drill motor on the pinion is used to rotate the assembly. The technician uses a gloved hand to provide drag on the spinning ring gear, thus preloading the assembly. After spinning the differential for a few seconds, the wear pattern is revealed.

The wear pattern showed that the pinion needed to be brought out a little to create a pattern that is more in the center of the gear teeth. The solution is a thicker shim at the pinion housing. Once the technician is happy with the gear pattern, he locks the adjustment into position.

For an even stronger 8-inch axle, the Currie Alumin8 aluminum 8-inch gearcase is now available. This is a new piece cast by Currie out of 206T6 aluminum. This case is much stronger than stock, but it is still not recommended for abusive or race applications-bare weight is just 10 pounds. Additional features include 1/2-20x3-inch long carrier bolts, as opposed to the 7/16-13x2-inch bolts that were used in stock 8-inch third members. The gearcase is part number CE-4026A with a cost of $389.95. This photo shows an assembled differential unit with the new Currie aluminum case being readied for shipping.

Back on the hoist, the gearcase is put into place using good old visceral grunt. Notice that he has prepared the axle housing by carefully cleaning it first, and then installing a new gasket with a bead of sealer on both sides. Once in place, new nylon lock nuts and sealing washers will be installed.

Our axles, wearing their new bearings, are installed using a mallet to seat the bearing completely into the housing end. The bearing retainer plates were then fastened back into position using the hole in the axle flange to access the fasteners.

Since our axle now has a Currie TSD, a 4-ounce bottle of Torco Friction Modifier, Type F, was added. The additive is mandatory for this limited slip application. Here, the axle is topped off with gear lube until the lubricant begins to drain from the fill hole.

Since we were already having our axle serviced, the folks at Currie were also kind enough to install these lowering blocks onto our car. You can see that they fabricated a special spacer out of bar stock to assure that the axle pad remains exactly centered on the leaf spring.

This Currie kit is available at $99.95 for your rear axle overhaul, and it includes a much heavier than stock spring plate and all new axle-mounting hardware.

Here's the completed spacer block installation. We've already trimmed the front coils on our car and this addition gives us exactly the level ride height we're after. Out on the street, our car was perfectly quiet at all speeds, plus there's no more "one tire fire" for this Torino.