my axle is shot- PO abused the truck. bearings seized to the axle shafts, and spun inside the tubes- eating the inside of the tubes out.

i've got a complete new setup out of a '72 ready to go.

any tips/tricks i need to know? new shackles? safest way to proceed?

 

How many splines does the 1972 F100 9" have, 28 or 31? Some 1968/72 F100 9" have a 9 3/8" ring gear, 31 spline axleshafts & Traction-Lok.

Only 5 9 3/8 parts are the same as a 9: Housing gasket, pinion seal, pilot bearing retainer, one pinion bearing and cup. EVERYTHING else is different!

1968/72 F100's have 11" x 2 1/4" rear brakes / 1961/67 F100's have 11" x 1 3/4" rear brakes.

 

Are you planning to replace the entire unit (axles, center section, brakes) as a assembly or just the housing and install your gears,axles, brakes, etc ?

If you're planning on swapping the unit out as a whole, have you confirmed that the '72 rearend housing measures the same length between the brake backing plates as your 'shot' housing currently in your '65?

Also, you should try to determine what ring/pinion gear ratio is in the '72 to ensure it is at least close to what you have now.....

BarnieTrk

 

argh- i always forget about the 9 3/8".

the tag is still on both axles. i realize the internals could have been changed, but its all i've got- unless there is a way to ID a 9" vs a 9 3/8" from the outside?

tag on the replacement '72 axle:
WDM-AG 1CC
3.00 9 314A

tag on the '65:
<TABLE style="WIDTH: 68pt; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=90 x:str><COLGROUP><COL style="WIDTH: 68pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 3291" width=90><TBODY><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; WIDTH: 68pt; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" height=17 width=90>WDM-C1</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; BORDER-RIGHT: #ece9d8" height=17>3 70 580 302</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

i'm pretty sure that means i'm going from 3.70 to 3.00 gears, but i'll have to deal with that later. does the rest help at all?

Barnie- i thought all the widths from 57-72 were the same, until the track got wider in '73?

 

1CC: Assembled the 3rd week (C) of March (C), 1971 (1).

 

The ribs on the 9 3/8 are different enought to tell the difference between the two if they are side by side.

I would compare them side by side, if the ribs and drain plug are the same, then I woild be confident that they are both the same housing.

You can swap out the entire center section as long as they are both 9in with tapered axles. Yoy may as well change the fluid anyway, so if you want teh orginial gears, I would do that at the same time.

 

thanks all- now that it seems i have a 9" instead of a 9 3/8"...what's the best way to proceed?

since the axle tubes on the 65 are shot, i'm planning on swapping the whole thing- lock stock and barrel.

 

Rustywheel68,

I don't know if I'd just do a simple fluid change & then swap out the center sections,,,,unless you are SURE there isn't any "residual shrapnel" caught up in the bearings & diff gears of the original chunk. I would expect to find some shrapnel in there that was generated from the axle ends being ground into bits & pieces and floating around inside the housing...

I don't know for a fact that your '65 and the '72 housings are the same width... but it's too easy to measure between the backing plates / axle flanges as well as between the leaf spring perches to ensure the are the same. I'd also suggest you ensure the driveshaft flanges take the same U-joint, if not, you may need to switch out the flanges.

BarnieTrk

 

i wish i had a picture to post...
the way i found out about the problem- i'd taken the truck to a shop to have the leaking axle seals replaced.

when they got inside, they started scooping out metal sludge into a shop rag. they saved the rag for a little show-and-tell. it must have weighed a half pound.

i'm going to ditch the whole thing, just to be safe.
i may disassemble it just to see how bad it is.