Hello,

I had to replace the rear axle of my 1995 E350 recently. The tag on the old unit was gone, so I can only guess that it was the original unit listed on the door sticker as a code 33. I could not find an exact replacement locally, so I settled on a 1997 E350 axle with a sticker code 39. The old one was a Dana 60 series with 3.54 ratio, and the replacement is a Ford with 3.55 ratio. All the suspension attachment points are identical, but the flange and driveshaft are different. The old one used U bolts to fasten the U joint caps to the yoke on the nose of the differential. The replacement has a smooth flange which the yoke (which is part of the drive shaft) is bolted to. Although both vans have the same wheelbase, the two drive shafts differ by about 2" in length from centerline to centerline of the U joints. The rear U joint centerline is about 3/4" difference in length to the centerline of the rear axle tubes. On top of these mismatches, the cups for the rear U joint of the driveshaft are also different sizes. I would have just spliced the front of the old shaft to the rear of the new one, but they appear to be made of different metals and are significantly different diameters. I assume the difference in length of the drive shafts is mostly a result of a different series of engine in the later model. Has anyone run into a similar situation? And does anyone know the exact dimensions of the various components I described? Thanx.

 

In case anyone is interested, the problem was solved by a machine shop. They had a suitable flange on the shelf which had the correct size bores for the U joint. Overall length of the original driveshaft with the new flange was about 1/2 inch longer, but there was enough depth to the tail of the transmission to accomodate the extra. Didn't need to cut, weld or rebalance the drive shaft.

 

Thanks for the update---this very well might come in handy for someone else!