I am looking for a F250 super duty rear differential assembly, complete. Housing, pumpkin, brakes etc. I am doing a project to put a sterling in my E350 van,V10.
I have done all the measurements and it will work with spring perches moved.
I have been to four salvage yards and each yard told me they had the perfect one, but when I got there one was bent, one was full of rust, etc etc.
I need a 4.30, single rear wheel, disc brake (99-04) F250 rear end. Lower the miles the better. 2005 they went to bigger brakes and I could use one but would prefer to use spacer/adapters 8x170-8x6.5 to change the bolt pattern and use my wheels 8x6.5
I have been tempted to get a rebuilt one but thats a lot of money, but I have had nightmares with salvage yards over the years trying to get a quality used part. If someone knows of a good resource that can be trusted I would be grateful.
Thanks for your input Andrew.

 

There is no magic salvage yard that has everything you need and the parts are perfect.

I have found Used Auto Parts | Used Car Parts | Auto Salvage to be a good resource to locate parts, but they have no control over the quality.

 

Another good place to look is www.car-part.com.

Just curious, what exactly is the goal here? I guess I don't see the point in swapping in the Sterling axle, only to have to use wheel adapters or run different wheels front and rear.

 

whats the problem with a rusty one? if you think ur gonna find a axle in a salvage yard that doesnt need some type of work ur crazy! unles the truck got totaled that week and then maybe. Even if it is a little rusty you should still replace the gear oil, rotors and pads anyways and while its out whats 10 extra minutes to sand the axle and paint it???

 

Good point, it's not the outside that matters, it's the guts that you need to be worried about. I'd pop the cover off and take a look inside before I bought one. The outside can look like brand new with a little elbow grease.

On the other hand, a better approach might be to just buy a junk one as cheap as you can and rebuild it with new parts. Then it wouldn't matter what gears it had because you can put whatever you want in it, and then you'll basically have a brand new axle.

 

Thanks for the responses. I failed to state that the rust was in behind the cover. The spider gears were rusted to where you could not scrape it off. Spider gears are $250 by themselves. So external rust wasn't my hang up. We pulled the cover and loose rust was inside the cover too.
I drove 3 hours round trip to look at this thing the salvage yard told me was in A condition. Then I drove three hours the other way to look at a bent one. they said it was in A condition too.
I was just checking to see if any of you guys had found a reputable salvage business or knew of anyone parting out a F250 super duty with 4.30 rear gears and disc brakes that might be for sale.
I will probably keep looking for a cheap one and put a new guts in it like one of you said and have a nice set up in the end.
thanks
Andrew.

 

try criagslist man

 

My goal here is that I have a dana 60 under the rear of my vans and have towed my 9,000lb trailer with these vans. The V10 does fine, the torqueshift 5 speed does fine, but this is the only vehicle with the V10 that Ford decided to put a very light rear axle in. The Excursion, Superduty all have the sterling 10.5. I have looked at heavier van axles, but the Dana 702U only has the dana 60 carrier and guts in it. Every three years I am having to replace the pinion bearings in these axles, the pinion is the weak link. The dana 60's I am using are full float, 4.10 and are pretty tough, but not longevity.
I am rated to be 18,500lbs GCWR with this set up and I am running 17,200 fully loaded with full tank of gas. I have owned this travel trailer and van set up for 10 years and it performs very well. This time I want to put a Sterling under the rear end as a project.
New drive shaft will be required, 4.30 gears will help me towing. I am willing to put time into redrilling the hubs to 8x6.5 on the Sterling to match the front.
The important measurement, from pinion nut center to right side wheel surface is exactly the same as my dana 60, the other side is one inch longer and I don't believe that will be enough to mess up the project. I think on the V10 application Ford should have offered the option of a heavier rear axle in the vans.

 

in all honestly i dont beleive ford thought somone would use a van to pull a travel trialer

 

You're probably right in some ways. Then why put a V10 in it? and a torqueshift tranny and call it a one ton, and put a dana 60 in the back? It is the weak link in the equasion.
I really like my vans, extended. I put a motorcycle or two in the van, inflatable Mercury boat with 15 hp motor in the storage compartment on the travel trailer. My guitars are in the van secure and airconditioned in the summer and heated in the winter as I travel and there is no way I can get that from a pickup, wish I could. But I am hoping to make this van what it should have been. I use a Hensley arrow hitch and it tows really well, no sway, no problems with the overhang and I am 56 feet long all up with van.