Based on your needs you noted above, Yes! If your performance needs were on a higher level than I would recommend a new aftermarket posi unit. 8 3/4 posi units either cone or clutch are tough as nails for street/mild strip use.
Yup....been at it for over 30 years
Thanks for the mention. Never had one where the springs were not up to doing their job but when the cones gets machined more than once or twice, then you might want to shim things but shimming is mainly to keep the spider gears in correct contact with the side gears. I will shim between the cone and side gear and not the springs. Main reason is that it's much easier and I use shims from a Ford dealership.
Rusty takes off .100" off the face of the cone cones. Most I've done is .030. Never seen a need to take off anymore than that. Taking off more only makes the cone thinner and has less contact with the carrier case...ie, it makes for a thinner cone to grab and lock up the unit. The O.D. of the cone is what grabs.
Right and as the cone wears, it'll finally bottom out offering no more grab. And the cross shaft (pin) wears whenever the cones become bottomed out in the carrier case and it becomes a one wheel peel. Most will not ease off of them and just keep on frying the one tire. That works the hell out of the spiders...which ride on the cross shaft which in time will gall and cause the pin to break the anti rotation pin and spin in the carrier case which in turns ruins the case. The cone unit was never intended to that that kind of abuse so that's what happens. It's kinda odd that an open diff can take it though lol but they are made differently in that area. Once a cone unit becomes a one wheel peel, quit trying to make it lock up because it's not going to happen. If you quit hitting it once you notice it's not acting (there's that word again) like a posi, chances are very good you won't damage it any further and it can be made serviceable again. Some years back I ran across a guy that was welding up carriers where the pin spun and took a good look at the machining time and costs to do one and decided it wasn't worth it but now that they are becoming scarce, I may give it a shot.
I've been working on a buddies 8 3/4 who races a heavy loaded out Challenger RT. Power windows, PS etc. He runs mid 11's with it and the 2nd time I machined the cones, I added shims but like I mentioned earlier, I do that to keep the spiders in correct contact with the side gears. I think it was like about 15 years ago that I did it the first time and 7 or 8 years ago I did it again. He pretty much only races the car with very little street use.
Sometimes I think about not having so much experience and being a lot younger and not feel like crap so often lol
