My car was purchased with no diff.  When priced out a diff, I could not believe the cost.  So I bought a weld up one £15, then a diff carrier / planet gears for £5 from someone who had fitted an LSD and £50 for a rebuild kit.  So hopefully for £70 I should have a rebuilt diff, which is generally the starting price a for diff.

I might have some spares if you run into trouble.

Got a few spare axles lying around, going to sell one to someone for a MK2 escort (standard english) need one to rebuild for my car (standard english) one for the other legerra (LSD) and some sort of system needed for the phaeton which will probably be ripped from a suzuki SJ410 as I want 4wd.

All the others are spares, 2 or 3 english and 2 salisbury. Just in case you get stuck like...

Adrian that is very intertesting.  Do the axles have the hand brake system on on them, mine has been stripped of hand brake system from the axle casing.

The LSD casing has been stripped before being adapted to 5 link but all the others are original, some mk 1 some mk 2.

I will be spending some time over the lockups this weekend sorting out the phaeton bits if you want to pop down and have a look, you may well be going home with an axle...

That is a tempting idea, but the reason I am trying to rebuild the diff is to get some of my spares out of way and get the diff fitted to the axle out of way.  That way I will have some more space to work and space for another engine that I have been due to collect for more months than I can remember, if it don't go soon, I suspect the chap may scrap or sell it on.  If I arrived home with an axle, it would have to live outside and I am sure my wife would have something to say about that (possibly suggest I live outside in garage!!).  Thanks for the idea, but I would not be able to get over at the weekend, as I am currently planning on working on the Phaeton every night this week and so I think the weekend will be wife and daughter time.

No problem.

Just give me a shout if you get stuck for parts and I will make an axle available to strip.

Spent two evening this week cleaning this diff ready for rebuilding.  I did not think it would take so long to remove the years of grime and oil.  Well it's now ready to be dismantled and rebuilt with new bearings

You ever rebuilt a diff? i have a 3.54 diff with dead pinion bearing and whilst the bearings are not expensive to buy, (C-70 quid) removing and refitting the new ones looks a pain without a decent press, also setting the pinion to crown wheel position, and getting the backlash right is a bit specialised. i have several books with the methodology in them but i still don't fancy the task. And i have rebuilt all sorts of things on various engines and cars over the years that i was told were not possible to strip and rebuild. Get a diff wrong and it will last a few weeks at best.

David, if you've not bought the parts yet, you may want to give these guys a call GS Escorts in Widnes, Cheshire 01514228333. As the name say's they specialise in old and new Ford's 3:9 / 3:89 diff is about £55.00. they do mail order. They advertise in Classic Ford every month. It secondhand but if you were to get a bad one they will swap it.

Thanks for the comments.  I have also read things (like haynes manuals etc) that say the diff  rebuild is a specialist job.  I have also read things that just say you have to be competent.  So based on the theory that I would put myself in the competent group (rebuilt a number motorbike engines, car engines, gearboxes, agricultural equipment etc) I thought I would have a go.  The biggest issue I can see is setting the correct backlash.  I have some reference documents that explain how to do this by coating the gears with engineer's blue and studying the marks left on the teeth as you rotate the pinion, or use a dial gauge.  I will give it a go and if I fail at least I have tried and then I will have to go and buy another diff (so thanks for the contact for a diff).  I will let you know how I get on.

I was not trying to sugest that you weren't capable of rebuilding a diff, just warning you to be fully aware of what you attempt. As a mechanic, I have often had to fix problems caused by a little knowledge and too much enthusiasm. Any competent mechanic can do it so long as he is methodical, but it is very easy to get it wrong with a diff.

I didn't think you were dismissing my capability.  I understood you were simply warning me of the pit falls, and I apreciate the advice.  You are now part of a growing band of people warning me against doing this (you are the second).  Now I am being to think, I am doing the right thing?  But I am still tempted to have a go