Been thinking about getting a Detroit Locker for my 9" rear but have never done one before. I'm content with the gears in there now so I was wondering what would be involved in putting the locker in. Pull the axles out, drop the third member... and then what? Would I even have to remove the pinion to take the carrier out? Obviously i'd have to get new bearings pressed on, but would all the shims (if 9"'s even use them?) be the same size?
Basically, could I just pull the carrier, switch the ring gear, install new bearings, and throw it all back together and have the lash/preload/whatever match back up where it should be?

 

the size of the carrier may be different than the one you took out.

take all the steps you need to pull the carrier you have in now and then swap ring gears. it's best to check backlash and everything else, so no, it's not just a straight swap. everything needs to be set up again.