Rear end gear change in a 1993 Bluebird Mini bird

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

on one of my motors after switching to an RV cam i could not keep a mechanical fuel pump working for more than a month.
first one broke the pivot pin and the second one an upgrade from summit in three weeks collapsed the arm.
now it has an electric fuel pump.
good luck

[Johnthebusboy]

My bus had a wheel chair lift. And a lean to go with. Weight imbalance....wheel chair lift and armored fuel tank.

Have you thought about using a turbo charger to capture some of the energy going out your exhaust pipe? Might help with the fuel economy. Turbochargers really help on oil burners....

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by craigify

Total cost, including gears, bearings and whatever else goes in there, gear oil and labor turns out to be just around $2100.00. It was more than I expected. I was thinking around $1500.00 or so, and I was honestly hoping for less considering I brought them the damn axle.

Considering inflation and the world we now live in, I suppose it's probably right. I just don't like it when it's much higher than my own estimate lol.

I really didn't want to learn how to set up those gears and risk any problems from improper tooth contact and whatever else you'd need to worry about. I was able to keep the same carrier too, which is great, considering that would increase the price by a couple of hundered just for that.

I think 1500 is what I paid to have a 3rd member completely REMAN and gone through for my 1978 Loadstar.. i did my own remove and reinstall of the 3rd member from the bus.. mine was done by Weller truck parts.. im getting ready to have them build another one for my red bus.. you can definitely save money by doing the labor yourself to put the Diff in and out.. its not hard to do (does weigh a bit)

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

for my eaton 16121 last i looked which was a while ago i could get the entire rear end for 800$ but that didnt include shipping and me going through before install.
but i was also looking at upgrade from the two piece daytons and thought it would look stupid without the same rims front and back.
i could find mine with the 3-4 ratio no problems at LKQ or VAANDERHAGS.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

for my eaton 16121 last i looked which was a while ago i could get the entire rear end for 800$ but that didnt include shipping and me going through before install.
but i was also looking at upgrade from the two piece daytons and thought it would look stupid without the same rims front and back.
i could find mine with the 3-4 ratio no problems at LKQ or VAANDERHAGS.

I dont see hardly any of mine on vaanderhaags or TPI etc.. when I do they look like they have 600k miles on them.. lots of pattern on the ring gear that make me nervous..



it costs me a whole lot more if i get one from vaanderhaags and then break down a year later and have to pay for a tow..

[craigify]

Springs went back in over the weekend. Axle is now under the bus....sort of. I'm having a bit of trouble wrangling this beast around. I have an idea of what to do next. Stay tuned.

[craigify]

I bought a little furniture dolly from Harbor Freight that did the trick! I was able to move the differential around and align it with the metal dowel pins on the leaf springs. I used the dolly, a floor jack and jack stands to adjust and move each side until I had everything lined up and connected.

I installed and torqued down the new u bolts and nuts. I'm going to replace the rubber brake lines since I have them disconnected and they're starting to have cracks in them....a little preventative maintenance.

[craigify]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

on one of my motors after switching to an RV cam i could not keep a mechanical fuel pump working for more than a month.
first one broke the pivot pin and the second one an upgrade from summit in three weeks collapsed the arm.
now it has an electric fuel pump.
good luck

I have fuel injection, so no mechanical fuel pump for me. I wonder why that happened...

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

i dont know but they just werent lasting.

[cadillackid]

sounds like the fuel pump lobe was bigger.. ive seen that done in an attempt to get more stroke out of the pump, i think comp cams at one time evewn advertised it.. I hated it as im with roger.. I think the pumps lived a shorter life..


I never actually Miked one but the pressure spikes and valleys acted it..



often when I switched to bigger cams I went electric on the pump anyway so I could re-route the lines.. never like GM running the line up the front of the engine where the fan blows all its hot air.. just asking for vapor lock..

[craigify]

I reinstalled everything on the rear and took my first test drive this weekend! This is much better! I can properly downshift at highway speed now without spinning up this big block to high rpms. I noticed only a small difference in acceleration with the new gearing.

I wound up replacing the entire brake lines on the axle housing with nickel copper lines and new rubber hoses. I also replaced the bleeder valves while I was at it. Had to remove the calipers to get those off.