i'm working on getting my 9" ready to go under my 54 Ford and need to narrow it. I wanna hear some feed back from you guys that have had your axles cut and resplined (problems or not??). I see several prominant axle companys offer this service. The rearend will be behind a stock 302 and a c-6 tranny. Thanks for the help!!
IMHO - 31 spline should be OK providing they knwo what they're doing. I'd avoid resplining 28 spline axles no matter what they say. YMMV BTW- I had "PRO'S" respline some 28's way back when - I twisted them on shitty Protrac tires with a stock converter powerglide 327. I resplined some 31's they're in my truck behind a 392 hemi - so far so good.
Moser gets my vote. Great service. They even re-splined a set of axles that I measured incorrectly-- for no charge.
stock axles are case hardened,even if you use a 31 spline axle,you still have the same problem.a lot of machine shops will anneil the axle,then it can be resplined.in doing so, its only good for driving on the street.spend the extra cash and get some axles made from 4340 and doulble hardness,43 rockwell on the flange,and 56 rockwell on the shaft.
A set of new axles is not overly expensive. Resplined axles are a gamble. I like new axles from Moser or Strange. The last set I bought was from Strange. They came complete with everything for the install at fewer $$ than any others, including Moser. Both companies have had the best service when I have needed it.
As long as its a street car you should be ok.I've had a couple of 31 spline rears cut and re-splined by a local machinist with no problems whatsoever.But if you plan on really hammering it or drag racing with some sticky tires,do what these guys recommend and get some good axles.
Having resplined a stock 31 spline axle myslef I will say this: The case hardness was VERY DEEP! The spline I cut was FULL HARDNESS for the entire DEPTH of CUT - BTW I cut my axle cold - no anneal and no reheat treat. I believe the problems arise when you take ALOT of length off - THEN you get away from the hardened area. I do agree this IS a street application - anything making any real power needs BETTER axles!!!
After having over 30 pair of 9" axles shortened and resplined without a failure and having Moser do all of them I'm sold. Like someone said do it cold without taking the origional heat treat out of the axle and your good to go. Another tip, if you have Moser do the work have them put new bearings on and studs in while they have them. Thier price for this service is half of the local price here and when you get them back they're ready to install. BTW, I can send a pair from northern Michigan (via UPS) and have them back and in the car in less than a week. Fastest turnaround I've ever dealt with. They tell me that when a pair of axles are dropped off they are machined (and anything else they have to do) and repackaged for shipment in less than 24 hrs. That's service and a price that can't be beat. Frank
if your going to respline i would say moser...but when you pay to ship the old axles to them and ship back and pay for the work your not to far from the price of a NEW set....
Moser will respline a pair of axles for $110, but if you're putting down some torque or running sticky tires, buy new axles, their Custom Alloy's start at $345/pr
I had Dutchman axles (portland Or) respline and heat treat a set of 28 spline 9" axles that lived in a sbc powered chevy luv for 12 years.
i agree with cutting axles when they are cold,but there is a lot of machine shops that wont buy the cutting inserts and spline cutting barrells that cuts up to 80 rockwell.you need to stay away from the guys that heats and cuts.
As usual, great advice I have used Moser quite a few times. Always quick turn around and a quality job. I had them narrow a 9 inch housing ( mine ) and bought a set of their axles ... I would have been almost as well of ... just buying their housing, if you count the $$$ to freight my 9 inch housing to them. I have only ever narrowed 31 spline axles ... so I cannot make a statement about the narrowing of the 28 spline axles.
I too had Moser narrow my axles. They were gone and back all in less than a week! I was not figuring on that quick of a turn around.
Do yourself a favor and call Moser first with your required new axle dimensions. I got lucky and called him before I bought my rear. I ended up buying a much wider rear so that the axles were long enough to shorten to my needs. You need to shorten an axle more than a couple of inches for the resplining to work. If your axles are too short to respline to your specs you may need custom axles or longer ones that he can shorten for you. With my required specs he told me exactly what year and model rear to get and it worked out perfectly. I would not have bought a Torino rear but in my case it was cheaper to narrow it for my old 53 Studebaker. It's something that I had never thought of because I did not understand the process of resplining.
My '33 Willys coupe uses 31 spline resplined and shortened axles. 3.50 9" posi 2350 lbs w/o driver built 300 Ford six / C6 (93) 13 second quarter-mile passes and 10,000 hard driven street miles So far no problems
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