Here at Darryl Smiths 9inch warehouse we choose to go one step further and provide what we feel is a better alternative for a "C" clip eliminator. For our example we are using an 8.8 Ford rear from a early 90's Fox Body Mustang. The procedure for doing a GM rear is the same.
Here is our rear end as we received it for both a 1" narrow plus the addition of late model Ford 9" housing ends.
To start this project start by removing rear cover to expose ring gear carrier.
To avoid mixing up carrier bearing caps it is a good idea to mark each cap with some sort of identifier. I'm using a center punch to put a small dimple on one cap and it's side of the case as well as two dimples on the opposite cap and case
Locate the center pin retention bolt and remove. Take care to use a six point socket due to this small head is very easy to round off.
Remove the bolt and the center pin should now slide out easily.
Some times the pin may be worn and require the gentle tap of a hammer and punch and some times the pin can be quite worn and require much more extreme methods of removal.
Using a small magnet, or some long nose pliers remove the "C" clip from the end of each axle. It will be necessary to push each axle in towards the center to release the clip.
Once the "C" clip is remove the axle will be easily removed from the housing.
Our next step is to remove the outside quad shock bracket to allow us to narrow the rear housing as well as provide more inside tire clearance.
I start this procedure by taking a hand held cut off saw and cutting through the factory welds. I then take a hammer and chisel and start to nock off the bracket.
Once you get the chisel started in between the bracket and housing it should start to peel of rather easily. Usually a two pound hammer can make fairly quick work out of this removal process.
Use a rock grinder and then a lighter weight sanding disc to remove all of the remaining quad bracket and weld.
We use a small cut off band saw to remove housing ends. Take care to level and square housing with saw.
Using a housing centering plate and a tape measure carefully measure where you want to make your cut. Measure twice, cut once. Cut it to short and you will have an unhappy customer or a housing too narrow for your use.
Once your sure about your dimension of what you want to cut off and your axle housing is level and square, start your cut.
With the housing alignment bar in place the one side of this housing was bent quite a bit and was going to require some straightening before the new housing ends could be welded on.
Here is another angle that shows how badly the rear is bent.
Here is yet another angle that shows how badly the rear is bent once the new end is positioned on the alignment fixture.
Using a chain and a screw jack we put the bent end under as much tension as possible. Once this is done, we preheat the cast steel center section before tack welding
After preheat the tube is tack welded in a cris cross manner before final weld 360* around tube. By welding on one side of the tube and letting cool we can pull the bent tube back into place.
