ford 9 inch rear end question.

[SteveC]

ok i got the tag pulled of of the 70,s rear end and i looked on the list of the site here and cant find the tags info on here.

its a little hard to see the second letter but i can see half of it and im 99% positive its A

So the tags info is as follows

WAM - T 0CC

3.50 8 7 311A

what info can i find from this?? all i know is the rear end is 3.50 and the pinnion?? has a little slack up and down dont know if thats normal or not havent pulled it apart to see what it looks like inside

[willowbilly3]

What are you trying to find out?

[Rockcrusher]

The WAM code tells me that your axle is a pre 1963 unit for which I have no information.

Assuming the tag decodes like a normal Ford tag, you have an open 3.50:1 ratio with an 8.75" diameter ring gear.

[SteveC]

guess i should have been a little clearer. The ratio on the axle tag matches the ratio on the door tag.

well i was trying to find out when it was made and if its normal for the pinion>??? where you bolt the drive shaft to... should have any play in it. IT can turn a little each direction before it starts to turn the wheels. and it can be moved up and down just a little like less then 1/8 of a inch

and strangely the axle its self was painted black or whats left of balck paint. and the third member?? (the piece that goes into the the 9inch rear end in the middle.) was painted red like it was different from the rest. And if i recall correctlly it has 10 bolts

[spartman]

Not sure on the play part of it myself.

I know I have two different 9 inch sets here, and both of them seem to have about the same amount of play in them.

I know the one rear I have has over 200,000 miles on it, not sure what the other one has on it.

HTH

[SteveC]

dad was wondering if the thing was going bad. The best thing to do is pull it apart at the third member and look inside. Worse case the 9inch rear end from the 83 will fit if we move the spring perches.

But if it may be normal then the rear end is probally good. thanks

[Thunderfoot]

Should be NO up/down or side-to-side, or in/out movement of the pinion... that would indicate the pinion bearings are shot! This will also mean the gears are no good as the pinion gear has not been mating with the ring gear properly wearing them out.
Turning it a little before it moves the axles is somewhat normal when the spider gears start wearing... But to much and they (spider gears) will fail...
I would say it needs rebuilt with new gears.

The color difference between the center section and the housing is normal, a lot of the center sections were rust-red color and the housings black.

[SteveC]

that is what i was afraid of dont know if it would be worth it to rebuild just yet but im not getting rid of it right away either