ok, I was just in the project forum reading oldredford's project up date and had a question (didn't want to hijack).
what does nodular mean? It seems I have the same rearend. I just had new bearings pressed on and they were $80ea insted of $35ea. According to the driveline shop, he hardly ever sees these rearends. The axles are larger at the end the bearing goes.
According to my ID plate, I have a 3600#, 31 spline, 3:50 limited slip (ltraction loc, is what it's called in the owners manual) and 1250 lb springs, supposidly making it 5000lb GVW.
Nodular is better. Nodular is also sometimes referred to as cast steel because it shares steel properties. The nodular 9 inches have a large "N" cast into the center chunk.
You have a very rare 31 spline bumpside 9 inch by the sound of it. Most are 28 spline. And yes, the wheel bearings are darn near impossible to find anymore and they're huge.
Any Idea as to why ford did this? If the outer housing is the same size and the axle is larger in that area, it appears that the bearing would be smaller between the I.D. and the O.D.. Did ford have a problem with axles breaking to make it this way?
averagef250,
Thanks, I have not seen a standard. The shop that did the bearings told me it was.
BobbyFord,
I believe we have the same. I was under the impression tha everyone called a 9 3/4" a 9" . Mine is actually a 9 3/4" 3L50 WFF-B (whatever that is)
Is it this large axle that makes it a 3600# instead of a 3300#?
unclejtl wrote:averagef250,
Thanks, I have not seen a standard. The shop that did the bearings told me it was.
BobbyFord,
I believe we have the same. I was under the impression tha everyone called a 9 3/4" a 9" . Mine is actually a 9 3/4" 3L50 WFF-B (whatever that is)
Is it this large axle that makes it a 3600# instead of a 3300#?
Yes, that's the large axle.
You can tell a 9 3/8" diff by the way the top rib on the pumpkin curves down on the driver's side...like this-
So are there any clues as to what sort of truck would have these 9 3/4" rear ends? They would be a bolt up for trucks up to 72 as I understand it. Meaning, the whole rear axel would swap over.
I should be looking for them, as my next project (in my dreams) is a 67-69 with a VERY large V8 that will twist off 28 spline axels like I can twist off a bottle cap..... So goes the dream.
But in any case, it would be a waste to have one of those heavy rears go to a crusher.....
65 f-100 SWB, 240 I6, T-18, now swapped to C4 with difficulty. Yeah, I know. Its a 67-72 site. But my frame and entire drive train are just like yours!!!!
cdherman wrote:So are there any clues as to what sort of truck would have these 9 3/4" rear ends? They would be a bolt up for trucks up to 72 as I understand it. Meaning, the whole rear axel would swap over.
I should be looking for them, as my next project (in my dreams) is a 67-69 with a VERY large V8 that will twist off 28 spline axels like I can twist off a bottle cap..... So goes the dream.
But in any case, it would be a waste to have one of those heavy rears go to a crusher.....
They're actually 9 3/8"
I think they must have been special ordered tow package or something. I don't understand why Ford would just put one in there. Mine came stock that way. I've seen a couple of others.
Just keep your eyes peeled at the boneyards for that curved upper rib on the pumpkin. Incidentally, the housings are different in that they are notched from the factory where the pumpkin bolts in to accomodate the larger ring gear. A non-9 3/8" housing can accept the 9 3/8" pumpkin but the housing has to be notched first.
averagef250 wrote:The outer housing is not the same size. The housing itself has larger tubes and tube ends than the standard 9 inch.
But this poster seems to indicate that the whole rear end is heavier....
But I assume the shock mounts and spring perches would still be in the correct locations, right?
65 f-100 SWB, 240 I6, T-18, now swapped to C4 with difficulty. Yeah, I know. Its a 67-72 site. But my frame and entire drive train are just like yours!!!!
averagef250 wrote:The outer housing is not the same size. The housing itself has larger tubes and tube ends than the standard 9 inch.
But this poster seems to indicate that the whole rear end is heavier....
But I assume the shock mounts and spring perches would still be in the correct locations, right?
The housing is different from the outside. It's hard to describe, but the weld seam where the tubes meet the center housing is further outboard than the standard 9". The shock mounts and spring perches are identicle to a standard truck.
The only bumpside I've ever seen with the 31 spline 9 inch was my 1970 F-100. It was an ex-weyerhouser fleet truck and was a base model with manual steering, manual brakes, a 360 and T-18 4 speed. It was the highest GVW F-100 they offered though I forget what the rating was. The rear end was also 3.50 gears and had a trac-loc limited slip.
