Rear differential - broken tooth - 1969 L60 - what to do?

[Shad]

All,
I changed my differential fluid over the weekend & reseal the cover and when i opened up the diff a tooth fell out with the oil - See photo. It drivers ok - no real bad sounds... i presume for the time being.
Should i replace the ring and pinion gears? Which is a full rebuild.... What parts fit? buy a rebuilt diff?
Do i not care and continue running it until it fails?

HELP..... please.

Thanks
Shad

[Esteban]

Shad, the picture was not included.

The front and rear differentials are the same. You can swap all the components from one to the other, and you won't need to do any calibration at all, provided the bearings are in good condition. You'll still have do check the preload for the pinion. In addition, the front and the rear wear out at different sides of the tooth (direction of rotation is reversed) so you'll end up with a fresh face when you swap.

The front diff is seldom used, so fitting there the broken parts from the rear won't be that critical, but a final inspection of the broken tooth should be made.

[Shad]

Many thanks....I added photos,
How involved is it to remove the ring-gear?

[Esteban]

Many thanks....I added photos,
How involved is it to remove the ring-gear?

Please download the 1978 Service Manual (year doesn't matter much): http://www.60patrol.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=1962
You'll have to refer to the Propeller Shaft & Differential Carrier.

The rear differential, not as much as the front, but does require some time. If you don't have a lift and plan to do a calibration (very time consuming) you'll need to take the whole axle out. Working on a lift will definitely be much comfortable. If you're swapping with the front, then you'll need to do these steps:

Rear Differential

• Remove the rear arbor, and loosen the nut of the pinion gear.
  Jack up the vehicle, supporting on the chassis, not on the axles, since you need to have extra clearance due to the gas tank interference when pulling the ring assembly.
  Remove wheels.
  Disconnect brake lines at each wheel.
  Take the axles out by means of the 4 bolts on the hub that connect to the axle housing (keep the big shims with their corresponding axle)
  Remove the 2 bearing cups of the ring assembly. Make good marks on them so they go back in the same side.
  Pull out the ring assembly. Make sure that the bearing cups are kept with their corresponding bearings.
  Remove the pinion gear.

Front Differential
Since you have to pull the axles shaft out, you need to do the following:

• Remove front arbor, and loosen the pinion gear nut.
  Disconnect brake lines
  Remove wheel hub (this will require removing the locking hubs first, and then the wheel bearing lock nuts)
  Remove knuckle spindle - 6 nuts.
  Pull out inner axles with the tracta joint components. Take note of the position of the parts, and don't mix with the other side.
  Remove ring gear assembly and pinion as in the rear.

I hope others that have tackle this can chime in.