i thought this was a 9" when i first got it but not sure now. but need to id it and year and such to try and rebuild it. it came on my truck. but know it is work of PO. would like to use it as it will be stronger than any thing else i have around. so what is it?
tag is the ratio. 3.73 i think. hard to read it. not sure what you mean about the bolts? i was told by a friend that it might be a 8" ford not the 9" i never heard of an 8". is there a way to make poss. id. i would like to start the rebuild on this if it's worth it. would be behind a 300 cid I6 with manual trans. mild buil on motor nothing crazy.
I think it is a 8 inch, the 9's little brother. the 9" will have a large hump on the backside. When you remove the carrier ***embly you should find the case marking to better identify for your rebuild.
Yep... early 9" rearends tend to look more like an 8". The tapers from the pumpkin to the axle tubes got long in the later years.
so what didwe decide on? would this be better than a later 8.8" or would it not really matter for my aplication? and this may sound dumb, but i have never done rear end work. so how do i take it apart? just un bolt the carrier or do you have to pull the shafts then take the center out? i wand to strip it down have it all cleaned up and take it to the 4wd shop around the corner to have all the new parts and such installed and setup corectly.
take out the axles first, then you can remove the center section. I bet it smells nice inside. The caps that hold the differential side bearings need to be put back where they came from, so be sure to stamp them with numbers or dots or something to keep track of them. We'd have to know all about your application to decide if this is a better rearend than an 8.8....and we'd have to know all about this 9", because there are a LOT of varieties.
That thing looks just like the 9 inch in my Vega. I have just been compairing them and see nothing different. I believe the 8 inch has fewer ribs cast into the case. Or, looking down, more. Something like that.
What it boils down to is if you can get a deep 9/16 socket on the bottom bolts holding the carrier/gear set in then it,s an 8 inch.If you have to use a box end wrench on the bottom 2 it,s a 9 inch.
alright well then i guess i have a 9" because a deepwell socket dosent fit. a short well with a woble joint kinda fits. but the pinon snout definatly hangs down in front over the bolts. and carrier is oval. so ya'll think mid 50's to 60's era? are 9" parts, 9" parts ? or what? whats was he talking about a tag or stamping inside to be able to order parts? would like to start pricing parts and such. what would you say a normal rebuild would need. fyi. this rear has been sitting in a field for untold years. idk it's life before that. or if it was the cause for being parked. but i do know that every thing in it rotates freely and when tire is turned the pinon turns and no weird noises. please help the dumb.
You're not dumb, you just haven't learned about this subject. You will know more once this is done. We are all learning something.
If the width is correct, (for what you need) I'd go ahead and pull the axles then the center section. Take the center section to the 4WD shop you talked about and let them decide what's good/bad. They will then be able to tell you what it will cost to freshen it up. If the ring and pinion are good and the correct ratio you want, they will CLEAN everything then replace bearings and set it up. You will need to also take the axles to them to replace the bearings. After you clean and paint the housing, replace the seals for the axles, re***emble and you're done. THEY can tell you what it'll cost before they do the work. They may charge you for tear down and inspection (if you don't have it fixed there) but that would be included in a rebuild.
thanks for all the responses. as for the ratio i'm not sure what i want. i know all aspects of the vehicle fall into the eqation but i don't have all the figures as some are not decided yet. vehicle weight= not sure 1947 ihc kb-1. but as this is a hot rod on a different frame and not all the extra's like interior and fuel tank size and ect,ect. have not been decided on or installed. transmision. not sure what it is....came out of a late model ford truck but other than that? it a manual. what ratio it has it it??? and tire size not sure as this is my first hamb worthy build i have yet to use bias tires and i'm not faimilar with there sizes. i want the smaller skinny front tires. and wide tall rear tires. tall enought to come even with the bed sides. but not the super wide drag size. hope this all makes sence. just throwing it all out there as i well be asking for advise on a regular basis from you all.
I always just put new axle bearings on 'em and ran 'em. In normal use they seem to last pretty well and be ready to go from the start.
It would probably cost a grand nowadays to get that ****er rebuilt. Since you don't know a lot of the final particulars yet, I'd just do like Rich said, pull the axles for new bearings, but while you're at it, also pull the center section out so you can clean it and get a good look at it. The guys at that shop you mentioned most likely won't mind doing a quick visual for you just to ease your mind. After it's on the road you can decide if you want a different gear, and keep in mind that you can swap the whole center section(3rd member), so you could buy one ready to go and just swap it in(long as the axle spline count is the same).
Don't use Chinese axle bearings the "box" parts stores sell, they're junk. Look good but won't last. If you're gonna be hammering on it, have the shop install a solid spacer instead of the crush sleeve.
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