My 1979 Country Squire

[GoodSamaritan]

Cool wagon, mang!

I nearly bought an 80 model that looked a lot like yours.

[85crownHPP]

your 79 has the newer style vic hood ornament... it looks pretty good with the 79 front end!!! did you add that?

[1987cp]

your 79 has the newer style vic hood ornament... it looks pretty good with the 79 front end!!! did you add that?

Yeah, the one that came on the car was broken off, and I picked that up for near free at a yard. I also have an earlier one (pre-'88, anyway), but I kind of like that one better. I did the same thing with the Merc - go figure.

[1987cp]

Okay, working from mrltd's suggestion, I located USLYDAWG on CVN and shot him a PM. His reply proved to be quite enlightening:

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"Sorry for the delay in responding as I read these forums a coupla times a week, but only log in when I have something to contribute.
The 8.5 and 8.8 rears are the same internally. All bearings etc. will interchange, even if some 'ex-spurts' claim there is no such thing as an 8.5 FORD rear.
You are correct. The axle bearings go into the axle tube in the 8.5 and 8.8s.
Are u sure the axle bearing is bad?? Is it leaking oil onto the brakes? If so, the brake shoes will have to be replaced.
The cover will have to be removed the get at the 'C' clip.
If the axle has a worn spot where the bearing rode, an 'axle saver' bearing will have to be installed. If the bearing is already a saver bearing and there is no 'good spot left, an axle from a newer CV/GM, thru ~ 89, will fit.
While the axle is out, be sure to clean the axle tube thoroughly, until no metal shavings come out, so as not to tear up the new bearing.
Treat the 8.5 like an 8.8. All parts interchange except the ring and pinion. No r&p has been avail. for many years.
If u need to replace the r&p, then an 8.8 must be installed along with a new carrier. A posi from an 8.8 can be used as a new carrier.
I am on GMN under the name of SLYDAWG.
Don't post there very often either."

[1987cp]

Well, I finally got my lazy self outside and changed the axle bearings. I had the axles out of the car in surprisingly short order - I guess some jobs do turn out to be a little easier than expected. The worst part (aside from getting started on the job) was getting the old seals and bearings out, but driving the new ones in was pretty easy. I've attached some pictures, and here are descriptions of them.


1) Outside of the 28-year-old pumpkin. Duh.

2) Icky, nasty gear lube. This stuff was actually only a couple years old.

3) Hub flange!

4) Pulling the axle. A slide-hammer was NOT required for this step, contrary to the instructions in the Haynes manual.

5) Wear on the axle, fuzzy photo

6) Old seal and bearing still in the axle tube. Kind of nasty on the outside, at least. I expected to see obvious wear or damage, but perhaps some was present that I did not perceive.

7) Better shot of wear on axle. This was the driver's side, but the other side looked nearly identical. This is the side the funky noises seemed to be coming from. I wasn't real comfortable with the slight wear and pitting, but NAPA closed at 4:00 and I didn't get there to ask them about it till 4:08, so I went ahead and hoped for the best. Spline count was 28, just like an 8.8" axle, so I may be able to swap in the shafts from an 8.8 I have at home if they look better. Wait, what am I talking about -- I should put in the 8.8 carrier and 3.27 ring and pinion also, now that I have the information that those parts should interchange. Only concern with that swap is that those axles are in a disk-brake '91 Town Car rearend, so they might be a little long, and getting a used axle cut down might not be cost-effective. Guess I'll find out!

8) Three-jaw slide hammer in use. This thing was kind of a pain to use, but I'm guessing it's about the only way to do the job. The batteries in the camera were nearly dead, otherwise I might have gotten a shot of the whole tool. Maybe I can take a picture of it tomorrow. I found out the fun way that the weight on the slide hammer wasn't sufficient to yank the bearings and seals at the same time, and all pieces came out somehow mutilated. Maybe Snap-On makes a megabuck puller with bigger jaws that works better but costs about $500.

9) 8.5", 2.26:1 ring and pinion - this is it! The super-trick parts that really belong at Bonneville and not on a heavy street car. I didn't actually count the teeth, but I'm still amazed how huge that pinion is. I did scratch the part number for the ring gear on the bottom of the galvanized under the car; I'll have to post it on here tomorrow as a curiosity item for Tiggie's box history.

10) Diff carrier with the spider and side gears out.

[SLYDAWG]

Axles

Those axles are trashed......replace them.
Axles from a newer CV/GM sedan thru ~89 will fit. 90/91 & TC axles are a diff. length.
TC may also be 31 spline.

Now would be a good time to replace those brake shoes as they seem a little thin from what I see in the pics.

Be sure and get those axle tubes cleaned good before installing the new bearings. The best way I found was to push a rag soaked in solvent thru the tubes with a broom handle until the rags come out clean.

[1987cp]

Those axles are trashed......replace them.
Axles from a newer CV/GM sedan thru ~89 will fit. 90/91 & TC axles are a diff. length.
TC may also be 31 spline.

Now would be a good time to replace those brake shoes as they seem a little thin from what I see in the pics.

Be sure and get those axle tubes cleaned good before installing the new bearings. The best way I found was to push a rag soaked in solvent thru the tubes with a broom handle until the rags come out clean.

Okay, good to hear I wasn't off the ball in not liking the look of the axles. I unfortunately had no choice but to stick the old axles back in for the time being, since our apartment management threatened to tow the car last time it was on jacks overnight (I can handle doing bearings again if it'll let me keep my car!), but I'll definitely be on the lookout for a replacement set. I know of a place in Indiana that usually keeps a small number of Panthers on hand, so maybe they can help me find a good set without having to pay for brand-new parts.

Funny that the brakes looked thin in the pictures; they were replaced quite recently and are barely worn at all!

I hadn't realized the Town Car axle might be 31-spline. If that turns out to be the case, do you think it would be worth the hassle to swap the whole assembly even though the shock mounts need to be patched? (yard had cut it out of the car with a torch and nicked the mounts - sloppy goons) I would think the TC axles could be cut down to fit the shorter LTD housing, but I don't imagine it would be cost-effective in the least.

Thanks again!

[1987cp]

Complete pics, etc. on Picasaweb

Okay, quick update to link to a Picasaweb album where I uploaded all the pics I have so far. I wanted to add pictures of the funky three-jawed slide hammer tool because I'd never used one before. The other commentary should be similar to what I already posted above.

The best news about the repair is that I've been kicking around town in the car again, and it's driving pretty smoothly, with none of the funky sounds or shuddering-while-braking characteristics that prompted me to do this in the first place. It's always nice when you make a repair and it really does fix what you wanted it to.

Oh, and for trivia's sake, the Ford part number for the original 8.5", 2.26:1 ring gear is: D9AW-4210-EA-2551. I doubt anyone will really care, or at least hope no one will have a reason to care, but at least we know now that if we find a ring and pinion set soemwhere with that number on it, chances are we don't want it for a heavy street car!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/mcwest20...ebearings_2007

[1987cp]

I just got the strangest comment on my CarDomain site: "a 289 four barrel intake will not fit on a 351w only a 302 still anyways nice cars keep it up". I'm really not sure where I implied that I was intending to install a 289 intake on a 351, nor why anyone would think that anyone else thought such a thing was physically possible. I feel kind of insulted by the comment, but it seems to be meant well. Any thoughts?

linky: http://www.cardomain.com/guestbook/2847054

[1987cp]

Needed a handy place to upload this improved 1G diagram ....