Ford 9" Rear End #2

Fulltimer · **Posted:** Fri Apr 03, 2009 12:53 pm

The information on this list was compiled by members of the Fairlane / Torino / Ranchero Mailing List. No guarantee as to the accuracy of this data.

If you have QUESTIONS about Ford 9" Rear Ends, please visit our Forum.
Year & Model

Axle Length

Notes
1965-1966 Mustang 57.25 inches
1967-1970 Mustang 59.25 inches
1971-1973 Mustang 61.25 inches
1977-1981 Versailles 58.50 inches
1967-1973 Mustang, Torino, Ranchero, Fairlane 59.25 inches to
61.25 inches
1957-1959 Ranchero and station wagon 57.25 inches
1966-1977 Bronco 58 inches
1977-1981 Granada/Versailles 58 inches
1967-1971 Comet, Cougar, Mustang, Fairlane 59.25 inches
1971-1973 Mustang 61.25 inches
1964 Falcon 58 inches
1967 Cougar 60 inches
1967 Fairlane 63.50 inches coil springs
1972 Ford Van 3/4 ton 68 inches
1973-1986 Ford Van 3/4 ton 65.25 inches

1957-1959 Ranchero and station wagon

57.25 inches
narrowest 9" housing
1966-1977 Bronco 58 inches 5-on-5 1/2 inch diameter bolt circle
1967-1973 Torinos, Rancheros, Fairlanes 59.25 inches or
61.25 inches
1967-1971 Comets, Cougars, Fairlanes 59.25 inches
1975 Mustang II 8" 57.00 inches
1974 Maverick 8" 56.50 inches
Where To Find The Nine Inch Rear Axle

1967-1973 medium and big block Mustangs and Cougars 1966-1971 Fairlanes, Torinos, Montegos, Comets, and other Ford intermediates with big blocks.
1957-1959 V8 Fords and Mercurys
1977-1981 Lincoln Versailles & Trucks
Types Of Nine Inch Axle Housings

1967-1973 Mustang/Cougar - light duty, thinnest housing material, small axle bearings, 28 and 31 splines.
1957-1968 passenger car and 1/2 ton truck - medium duty, stronger than Mustang type, 28 and 31 splines.
Ranchero/Torino - heavy duty thick wall housing, 3.25 inch diameter axle tubes with flat tops.
1969-1977 Galaxies (coils), Lincolns (coils), and late pickups (leaf)- 3.25 inch diameter all the way to the backing plate, coil housings have upper control arm mount
How To Recognize Nine Inch Housing Centers

1957 - no dimples, flat center band up the center of the rear cover, bottom drain plug.
1958-1959 - two dimples on back of housing, flat center band, some had drain holes.
1960-1967 - two dimples, flat center band, oil level hole in back cover.
1963-1977 Lincoln, LTD, Thunderbirds had 9.375 inch centers, housings were cut away at the gasket surface for ring gear clearance, one curved rib at the front top portion of differential, strong but no gears.
Tip On Shortening Nine Inch Axles

1972 and earlier 31 spline axles have the ability to be shortened.

28 spline axles are tapered and cannot be shortened and re-splined.
1973 and later cars have a 5-on-5 bolt circle and the axles cannot be shortened.
1967-1973 Mustang axles can be identified by wheel flange:
Oval hole = 28 splines.
Two large holes and counter-sunk center = 31 splines.

JJsTJ · **Posted:** Fri Apr 03, 2009 2:22 pm

ummm...looking for a hot rod forum to post this on? Can't see anyone here needing this info for a KJ any time soon.

USAFCOP · **Posted:** Fri Apr 03, 2009 7:13 pm

Rear axle replacement for full width SFA....

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Fri Apr 03, 2009 7:35 pm

So where is the F100-F150 9",like '70-'84? By far the most common and found 9" rearend.

They are 65" WMS to WMS and come either is 28 or 31 spline.

The most important fact about 9" rear ends is you want a 3rd member that has a giant "N" on the center section which stands for Nodular Iron housing.

Fulltimer · **Posted:** Fri Apr 03, 2009 8:41 pm

[quote="USAFCOP"]Rear axle replacement for full width SFA....[/quote]

Thank You! It seems that some people are a bit touchy around here about things that don't have Jeep stamped on it.

Terry

Inc · **Posted:** Fri Apr 03, 2009 8:44 pm

Why not post it in the SFA section?

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:15 pm

eh, I'm partial to 14BFF's myself

JJsTJ · **Posted:** Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:20 pm

Fulltimer wrote:

[quote="USAFCOP"]Rear axle replacement for full width SFA....

Thank You! It seems that some people are a bit touchy around here about things that don't have Jeep stamped on it.

Terry[/quote]

Not at all. Two individual posts about something very OT to this forum is all and thought maybe I missed something.

Thread moved. :wink:

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:21 pm

people can be touchy as they want to be,

i personally don't mind using whatever I have to use to improve whatever it is, i've had ford axles in several vehicles and only one of them was actually a ford

loveum

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Fri Apr 03, 2009 10:09 pm

Sir Sam wrote:

eh, I'm partial to 14BFF's myself

Yeah but you need some pretty big meats to gain clearance under that very large pumpkin.Now a full float D60 with 14bolt spindles welded on them to easily run 35spline shafts is a better choice if you want strength without loosing to much clearance.

jsc7002 · **Posted:** Fri Apr 03, 2009 11:49 pm

Sir Sam wrote:

eh, I'm partial to 14BFF's myself

definitely a good solid axle, but the 9" are good too especially if you go with 38 spline shafts it'll be really beefy then.

InCommando · **Posted:** Fri Apr 03, 2009 11:53 pm

Instead of a ff-14b, pick up a D70-HD. This axle has 4" tubes, factory 35-spline axles, and the pumpkin is easily trimmed to the same size as a D60, even using the D60 cover. And the best part? They are about $100-$200 if you are satisfied with a posi. $200 for rear disc brakes, and you are set. No special hub machining, gee-whiz parts, or added expense. Just extreme strength

Or instead of the 9", chose a D60. Cheap & stronger. When Ford wanted to step up from the passenger car/lightest duty p.up axle that was the 9", they chose the D60 rear.

This is not a Jeep thing, as the D70-HD never came in a jeep ( in fact, mine was in a dually GMC as GM used them when their own 14B was not up to the task of the later, higher GVWR Duallys). The only factory jeep D60 I have seen was under the J20's, and they don't exactly grow on trees. Your D60 is probably going to be from under a Ford, GM, or Dodge, not a jeep.

People get stuck on certain things, like a 9" or a FF-14B, because "conventional wisdom" or "they" say this or that about them. Step outside the lines and look into it, and I think you would see some other options. Sure, you can spend $3,000 on just the third member on a 9" to make it rock solid, but why not get something better from the start, even if it is outside "convential wisdom?"

You want a silly-strong axle set for a SFA without blowing big bucks? Get a '78-ish f250 for the D44/D60. At around 65", they are a touch wide, but rim selection can pull some of that back in. Right out of the doner, you will have to work to break them in a SFA KJ.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sat Apr 04, 2009 8:08 am

Quote:

You want a silly-strong axle set for a SFA without blowing big bucks? Get a '78-ish f250 for the D44/D60. At around 65", they are a touch wide, but rim selection can pull some of that back in. Right out of the doner, you will have to work to break them in a SFA KJ.

More like the '78'ish F250 HP44 is 69" WMS to WMS and the D60 is 67" WMS to WMS,have a set sitting at RL's.The 9" is also just as strong as a D60 and almost always cheaper.

As far as the D70 rear is not a popular choice due to lack of aftermarket parts like lockers and gears.Now using front D70 outers on a front D60 is a good choice so you can run 35spline inners/outers.The 14B also has that 3rd pinion bearing support making it far stronger then the D70 and you can build a bullet proof 14B for less then $2000.

ARBSeth · **Posted:** Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:21 pm

Troy, gotta disagree ont he 9" vs a D60... the pinion gears are half the size on a 9" vs a D60... the ring gear isn't as big... the housing itself is smaller... go with aD60 for brute strength. A 9" is a great housing, but it's not holding up well to heavy abuse because you can only fit so much in the housing because the pinion support takes up so much room.

First thing to blow up in any heavily wheeled rig is the pinion gears, so the D60 is the better choice for strength. Ask any rock racer... 9" just aren't holding up. The D60's are. Guys are even asking us for 40 spline D80 kits now...the 9" can run a Mark Williams 40 spline shaft, but it's still only got pinion and side gears the size of a D44...ok, not with a 40 spline spool, but you get the point.

ramlebliberty · **Posted:** Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:02 pm

how much unibody modification/stiffening has to go into stuffing a d60/70 under a kj? i mean thats a whole lot of beef sitting under a unibody. I'd be worried about the structural integrity of the rig.

ohv_kj · **Posted:** Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:26 pm

look at Danny's rig...d70 rear and custom d70 front...he just has a lot of plate steal...this is on a zj to let you all know... right now i'm going back and forth between d60, 14B, and 9"...all have the good things and bad... i just don't know George

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:54 pm

ARBSeth wrote:

Troy, gotta disagree ont he 9" vs a D60... the pinion gears are half the size on a 9" vs a D60... the ring gear isn't as big... the housing itself is smaller... go with aD60 for brute strength. A 9" is a great housing, but it's not holding up well to heavy abuse because you can only fit so much in the housing because the pinion support takes up so much room.

First thing to blow up in any heavily wheeled rig is the pinion gears, so the D60 is the better choice for strength. Ask any rock racer... 9" just aren't holding up. The D60's are. Guys are even asking us for 40 spline D80 kits now...the 9" can run a Mark Williams 40 spline shaft, but it's still only got pinion and side gears the size of a D44...ok, not with a 40 spline spool, but you get the point.

Yeah I know but for a KJ running 35" tires a 9" is more then strong enough and that's why I opted for the RockJock60,D60 center section/gears/locker and the 9" axles and brakes.Makes running a 35spline 60 much easier.The 9" is still a great axle and your pretty hard pressed to break it unless your entering rock crawling comps and/or running 42" tires on level 10 trails every weekend.Every axle can and will break,seen some carnage of a broken 47spline RockWell axle before.

jsc7002 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 07, 2009 5:48 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

So where is the F100-F150 9",like '70-'84? By far the most common and found 9" rearend.

They are 65" WMS to WMS and come either is 28 or 31 spline.

The most important fact about 9" rear ends is you want a 3rd member that has a giant "N" on the center section which stands for Nodular Iron housing.

its either a N or a C for cast iron right? Whats wrong with the cast iron axles?

ramlebliberty · **Posted:** Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:24 pm

ohv_kj wrote:

look at Danny's rig...d70 rear and custom d70 front...he just has a lot of plate steal...this is on a zj to let you all know... right now i'm going back and forth between d60, 14B, and 9"...all have the good things and bad... i just don't know George

go with the 60... :twisted:

front & rear.

ramlebliberty · **Posted:** Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:26 pm

ohh ohh... and 40" boggers :twisted:

Ford 9" Rear End #2

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