Yotard

Has anyone ever machined a non add carrier with the oil groves to accept the needle bearings for the add style carrier so that if you have add axle tubes you can still use them?

FourwheelinVT

Good question. I'm not sure about that, but many people swap a non-add axle tube onto the add diff to eliminate the add part. The non-add tube is larger around making it slightly stronger. Also, I believe you have to switch the seal.
Why are you changing to a non-add carrier?

Yotard

I have an add setup currently in my truck and I bought a 4.88 factory diff without axle tubes that is non add I also happen to have a Bridgeport mill in my garage and figured I could just try to bore the carrier to fit meddle bearings rather than swap carriers and have to setup the gears or buy axles and tubes. Also there seems to be a debate about what is stronger. The needle bearings sound like they don't wobble out as bad and are more easily repaired when they do vs the non add carrier that just has to be replaced. But then you have a smaller diameter axle and it can break easier.

rattlewagon

I dont think you have to machine anything, dont they just switch over when using the proper oil seal?

I dont believe the carriers are different between add and non, they use the same part number.

Yotard

Well I went ahead and ordered the needle bearings and will see what happens maybe I can just press the in the non add carrier. Looks like I remove the oil seal on the intermediate shaft side otherwise the add won't get gear oil to it. If I don't put needle bearings in the axle shafts being a smaller diameter won't ride on the carrier like it is designed to so one way or another I have to put needle bearings on this carrier or change axle tubes and axle shafts.

Yotard

So I received the needle bearings yesterday in the mail and I tore the third member down this morning. This is what I found. The inside diameter of the needle bearing and the carrier are the same at roughly 1.300" The OD of the needle bearing is 1.540" or so. That does mean that you could repair your wobbled out oil grooved carrier by machining and then pressing these bearings into the carrier which would save you having to completely reset up the gears and buying a new carrier and carrier bearings and shims. The bearings cost 40 bucks each and I won't have to reset up my gears but I will have to machine the carrier to accept the needle bearings. I bet the part number is the same because the ID of the needle bearing is the same as the oil grooved carrier so you could just sell the needle bearing model and it will work for both. and my guess is that they discontinued the oil grooved carrier completely.

Yotard

I bored out the carrier today and pressed in the new bearings. I used machinist's handbook callout of an FN1 force fit. P663 of Machinery's Handbook OD of 1.190 to 1.580 (range for the size of the hole) Interference of .0003" to .0013" Hole size 0 to .0006"+ Shaft Size .0009"+ to .0013"+ I aimed for the middle of the fit so about .0005" press The bearings are tapered but the FSM calls out for the larger side with the writing engraved on it to be facing out. The middle of the bearing measured 1.537 so I aimed for 1.536-1.5365. It came out beautiful You can definitely repair a wobbled out non add carrier this way instead of buying a new carrier, or as in my case, make a non add carrier into an add carrier. If anyone is interested in this I would be willing to perform the machining for $100.00

FourwheelinVT

Nice job! Thanks for the pics and the update.