The Differential

March 1 2026

I finished installing the low-pressure fuel pump and fuel lines before moving on to the differential. This went pretty smoothly.

 It seems like every major part will have a little struggle. The latest major chunk was the differential. I am still working by myself, so to support the Zetec differential by hand while bolting it into the frame is out of the question. I rigged up my elevating table to support the diff and had to rig some planks to extend the lift so that it would get between the cradle supports. Then I had to get the angle right so that the nose of the diff would come close to the rear end of the tunnel before the rear of the diff would interfere with the frame ahead of the fuel tank. It's pretty tight quarters to get the diff up into that space and then get it to rotate down into position. I rigged safety straps to ensure that the diff wouldn't get away from me while I was jacking and rotating it into the space in the frame.

Once into position I had to shim the bolts and spacers to make agreeable contact with the frame brackets. There was some confusion with whether there was supposed to be a rear bracket on the frame, next to the fuel tank, to bolt to the rear of the differential at the boss with two provided bolts and spacers. The Build Guide clearly showed that the bracket should be there. Some quick consultation with the Facebook GBS Enthusiast site and I was assured that the rear mounting point were not necessary. 

Finally I got the two side bolts and shims into place and the top and bottom thru bolt also shimmed with the spacers. A big thanks again to the Facebook page for reminding me to lift the diff into the frame with the lower thru bolt already in position because it was impossible to install it afterward! I did not see that warning in the Build Guide!

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