Ranger 2WD V6-182 3.0L (1995)
Ring Gear: Testing and Inspection
CLEANING AND INSPECTION
Examine ring gear teeth for scoring or signs of excessive wear. Worn gears cannot be rebuilt to correct a noisy condition. Gear scoring and flaking
are the result of excessive shock loading or the use of improper lubricant. Scored gears cannot be reused.
Examine teeth and thrust surfaces of differential gears. Wear on hub of differential side gears may cause a chucking noise known as chuckle, when
the vehicle is operated at low speeds. Wear of splines, thrust surfaces or thrust washers may contribute to excessive drive line backlash.
TESTING
Models equipped with anti-lock brakes incorporate a multi-tooth exciter ring which is pressed on the differential case located behind the ring gear
assembly. Do not remove exciter ring to measure ring gear runout. A space is provided between the exciter ring and ring gear to measure ring gear
runout.
NOTE: If ring gear runout during disassembly exceeded 0.008-0.015 inch, the condition may be caused by a warped gear, or distorted or
damaged case or foreign matter trapped between differential case halves or under ring gears.
To determine cause of excessive runout, assemble differential case without ring gear, then check as described below.
1. Install case in differential carrier without ring gear attached.
2. Install bearing caps and adjuster nuts and tighten cap bolts to 70-85 ft lb.
3. Tighten adjuster nuts to center differential side bearing.
4. Mount a dial indicator and check runout of case flange and ring gear pilot. If runout at either point is excessive, install a new differential case.
If runout is within 0.012-0.015 inch, the ring gear is out of specification.
NOTE: When performing this check on a locking differential case the four compression springs within the case should be temporarily
removed. This will prevent a false runout reading due to distortion caused by the springs forcing the case apart.
