01 - you can see the adjuster and bearing cap, along with the outer
ring of bolts holding the ring gear and the inner ring holding the
case halves together.
02 - A bearing cap removed w/ the adjuster, notice the lock tab is still in place holding the adjuster in position on the bearing cap, this is very important. Don't forget to mark the caps and the carrier body so they go back on the same side in the same
orientation (not shown)
03 - Mark the bearing races so you don't mix left
and right.
04 - Always place the bearing in a race, especially when
sitting on the end like shown, to protect the bearing. Be careful when
the unit is tilted as in 03 too.
05 - Mark the 2 halves of the case so
they are oriented the same way when reassembled. I used a Sharpie but
paint might be better. You can't see, but the mark extends down past the spider pin to the other half of the case. I figured it might be good to return the spider assembly to the same orientation as well, can't hurt anyway.
Depending on how dirty the inside is, you may see
some white paint used for this purpose left from the assembly process, I noticed it on mine later.
06 - Remove the bolts holding the 2 halves of the case together. Note that
the case will be trying to force itself apart so loosen the bolts
criss-cross 2-3 turns apiece rather than all at once. Then carefully turn
the carrier over while holding it together.
07 - Insert a finger to hold
the side gear inside the case half and lift the case half off.
08 - You
will now have the 2 halves and the spider gear assembly free.
09 - Insert a finger into the side gear and turn the case half over to remove the
clutch pack. The little retainers will fall away, don't worry. (same for
other half of case, though wait and leave the other half alone for a bit
in case you need to use it as a reference)
10 - The clutch pack laid out. The two non-flat, non-splined spring plates are on the right. The radially-splined pieces w/ the tabs are the friction plates. The
spiral-splined pieces w/ the "teeth" in the center are the friction discs.
Notice the small retainers that sit on the outer tabs of the plates,
these will likely not be able to fit after adding extra discs/plates.
Adding the extra discs/plates is not yet a science. I have my ideas on how to do it, how many to use, where to put them etc. but they're not the same as what others have done and results can vary regardless. I'll leave it at that.
11 - Just a shot of all the major components.
12 - Close-up of the clutch plate retainer/guide. Again, you
probably won't be using these, but if you do, this is where/how it
goes.
13 - Easiest way to load the clutch pack if you do manage to keep the
retainers is to go ahead and put the spring plates into the case half and assemble the rest of the pack on the side gear, then lift it off the gear
with the retainers and carefully insert the whole thing into the case
half, then put the gear down into it.
Note: Some have been unable to keep both spring plates in the pack after adding discs, it's just too tight. Your mileage may vary. Again, it's not a science yet.
The clutch pack loaded back into the carrier w/ retainers.
From there it's just a matter of putting the spider gear assembly
back in place, and putting the 2 halves of the case back together
(making sure they're still in the same relative position per your
markings). Tighten the bolts down a little at a time criss-cross
rather than all at once. Final torque is 50 ft-lbs.
You should be able to carefully place the carrier w/ races back into the third member and with a little persuasion re-seat the adjusters into their original position. If for some reason you just can't get one of the adjusters to re-seat into the threads you will have to remove the lock tab on one and back it out a little. Adjust the one on the ring gear side if you must, it will only affect the pre-load if you don't get it quite right. Messing with the other one will throw off the backlash. Pre-load is much easier to measure and adjust on your own if you have to.
Put a mark across the adjuster and bearing cap so that you can return them to their current orientation. It is critical that you not allow the adjuster and bearing cap to become separated at any time or you may lose your point of reference to re-set the adjustment. Take a good look at how "deep" the adjuster is engaged into the threads of the cap in case, you may be able to eyeball it back correctly if needed. Being very careful to hold the adjuster in position in its half of the threads on the bearing cap (I'd suggest using a bread bag twist or two while you work), remove the locking tab. Remove the bag twist or what not if used, then while still holding the adjuster against the threads, rotate it half a turn or so counter-clockwise. Re-secure the adjuster with the twists if you wish while you replace the lock tab. Once you are able to re-install the adjuster and bearing cap so that the cap bolts are just to the point of starting to tighten, you will need to again remove the lock tab and rotate the adjuster clockwise to return it to so the marks you made line up again before replacing the lock tab. A screwdriver/punch and a hammer will do the trick to rotate the adjuster. After the adjuster is set, put a final torque on the cap bolts of 69-76 ft-lbs.
Good luck!
Brent