If I were to swap out the original carrier caps and/or bolts for stronger caps and/or studs, would the 12 bolt housing require any machine work during set-up. Is it similar to line honing for an engine?

Is there any machining required when rebuilding a core rear end?

1) yes. not a lot of shops out there that can do this either.

2) not usually unless you consider press work machining

Thanks for the reply.

How would you determine that this work is required? For example, a crank will not spin after swapping bolts for studs indicates it needs to be line honed. Does the same apply to the carrier? How much would this type of service cost?

Trying to determine the best route to swapping in a 12 bolt.

Thanks.

Measure the bearing bore to see if it is round and the correct size. That is all you need to check. If it is not round and the correct size then it needs work.

Thanks for the response, BGH. I will keep that in mind.