Still slowly working on the Bird… damn life keeps getting in the way, but so be it.
Long story short I pulled the rearend (Strange F-body HD 12-bolt); and pulled it apart for rebuild and powdercoating of the housing. Measured the backlash before I pulled the diff, and found it WAY THE FUCK out of spec. Measured out at 0.015"; spec is 0.007"-0.010". Not good. So it looks like I need a new gear set.
Any recommendations on brands that are better/worse than others? US-Strange? Motive? Richmond? Other?
(As a note, I also found both wheel seals were bad, probably from sitting for 9 years; and a nicely bent aftermarket aluminum PHR! One good thing though, I used Seals-It seals on all the heim-joints (Rod ends) in my rear suspension, and even after 20k of hard road miles, the seals are shot, but the rod ends are still nice and tight!)