The carrier bearings are no better.

Again the carrier races have particulate engrained in them.

The carrier and pinion bearings need to be replaced. Strangely the pinion support bearing is just fine and will be reused.

Next is to remove the ring gear.

Remove all the bolts.

The Ford factory service manual says to lightly tap the ring gear with a soft mallet and it will slide off. This one is on there. There's no tapping this off.

This is what this is coming down to. Just some scrap steel welded together to press off the ring gear. Just be sure to catch it when it finally does come loose.

Then the differential was being stubborn as well. Usually this taps apart with a soft mallet. Alas no, it took a little more gentle persuasion.

You can see quite a bit of the old nasty sludge oil lingering inside the differential.

You can see more chunks inside this half.

This is just proof that any old axle should be thoroughly taken apart and cleaned. Just because clean oil initially comes out, doesn't mean much when you see where the junk is hiding.

Removing the carrier bearings with a gear puller.

I used a bolt, nut and washer to push against.

Nothing fancy, just a little ingenuity.

For the pinion you do need a bearing separator.

To get the races out of the pinion support, tap on them with a punch and a brass mallet. Tap equally on both sides as you go so the race comes out straight.

Easy Peasy.

I gave the parts a good cleaning and time for a closer inspection.