ford 9" differences
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ford 9" differences
So I had a 9" light duty rear end in my truck and I swapped it out with a ford 9" nodular rear end....can anyone tell me what the differences are in a nodular and a regular 9" besides the light and heavy housing
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N case
If its a factory N case then besides the nodular iron strength difference the pinion bearing support is also different. It has stronger ribs but you would have to remove it to see the difference compared to a regular pinion bearing support. Also the factory nodular yoke is different by the depth of the splines but you couldnt use this on a truck because it uses the car u-joint size unless you use the t bird u-joint. I have ran them in trucks but I never saw a need to. I never tore up a case, it was always breaking a traction loc around the ring gear bolt holes or stripping an axle gear and axle splines but never a case.
Lead Driver
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From: West Virginia
I don't think there IS a difference to the housing itself. There are heavy/light duty housings but that has nothing to do with the nodular case. To my knowledge none of the trucks were available with the nodular case.
Hotshot
Joined: Feb 2004
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From: The Shenandoah Valley
No value in a nodular housing as opposed to the std housing, the pumpkin has no affaect on weight rating of the axle housing. The N rears are preferred in some racing applications where extreme shock loads under high horse power levels are involved but that's not likely in a street truck.
Lead Driver
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From: West Virginia
the nodular case DOES strengthen the housing because the case itself is stronger and less prone to cracking which can be caused with the pinion deflects on the ring gear and distorts the case and the housing. But that strength does not equal greater load capacity or resistance to bending or anything else you would value in a street vehicle. Its real value is in preventing the pinion from lifting up off the ring gear under extreme loads like in drag vehicles, or extreme 4x4's and stuff.
If the yoke doesn't match your shaft you can always swap yokes.
If the yoke doesn't match your shaft you can always swap yokes.
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Fleet Owner
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From: NorCal
2x with hasteranger.... We're referring to the the gear carrier case (the pumpkin), not the axle housing.
And not all nodular carriers have N cast into them.
And not all nodular carriers have N cast into them.
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Thanks a lot...my uncle kept telling me to put the nodular in my truck so I did I was just curious why...I am going to 4x4 this thing so it's a good thing they the rear will be stronger,will the nodular third member fit In a light duty housing?
Lead Driver
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From: West Virginia
It will fit in any 9" housing. Any 9" carrier/case fits in any housing. Its all the same axle as far as that goes. And there isn't really a hard cut difference between "light duty" and "heavy duty" 9's. They are both light duty axles. The heavy duty trucks had dana 60's or dana 70's with full float hubs/axles and a larger ring gear (and thicker tubes, larger brakes, 8 lug hubs, etc).
Some trucks had the lower RAWR and had longer tubes, a narrower cast center section, and sealed bearings. But there is no hard rule on that, though its hard to tell what originally came on a truck since things could have been swapped, but sometimes you see the wider cast center sections on the light rawr trucks too.
Some trucks had the lower RAWR and had longer tubes, a narrower cast center section, and sealed bearings. But there is no hard rule on that, though its hard to tell what originally came on a truck since things could have been swapped, but sometimes you see the wider cast center sections on the light rawr trucks too.
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From: Simi Valley, CA
One has 28 spline axleshafts with/without Limited Slip and a 3,300 lb. capacity.
The other has a 9 3/8" ring gear, 31 spline axleshafts, Traction-Lok and a 3,600 lb. capacity.
9 vs 9 3/8: Only 5 parts are the same: Housing gasket, pinion seal, pilot bearing retainer, one pinion bearing and cup.
EVERYTHING else is different!
Lead Driver
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From: West Virginia
Yeah, but that goes towards what was just said, you can't mix match. You can put 31 spline shafts and the carrier out of a 31 spline into a 28 spline housing just fine, and the sealed bearings and tapered bearings interchange as well.
I didn't know the ring gear was a different diameter, but you could still put 28 spline axles into a 31 spline carrier or vice versa if you changed the side gears.
I didn't know the ring gear was a different diameter, but you could still put 28 spline axles into a 31 spline carrier or vice versa if you changed the side gears.
Hotshot
Joined: Feb 2004
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From: The Shenandoah Valley
Yeah, but that goes towards what was just said, you can't mix match. You can put 31 spline shafts and the carrier out of a 31 spline into a 28 spline housing just fine, and the sealed bearings and tapered bearings interchange as well.
I didn't know the ring gear was a different diameter, but you could still put 28 spline axles into a 31 spline carrier or vice versa if you changed the side gears.
I didn't know the ring gear was a different diameter, but you could still put 28 spline axles into a 31 spline carrier or vice versa if you changed the side gears.
There are many 9" rears that take 31 spline axles as well. The 9-3/8" is just sometimes found in places you might expect a 9" .... if you didn't know about them.
Here's some more reading .... http://www.kevinstang.com/Ninecase.htm
Lead Driver
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From: West Virginia
Oh. well that would be sort of the wrong forum for 72 and under stuff. Though I get the point now, that if you for some reason had that in your truck nothing would match up. When I post at work I'm usually browsing with the window minimized to about 4" square so sometimes I miss details like that.