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My truck is a 1955 F100 (link to thread in signature.) Rust and rust pitting has caused the passenger-side wheel bearing to fit loosely in the shell. I can move the axle up and down noticeably. I don't have a measurement but perhaps as much as 1/32". (Total up/down movement at the studs is 0.061".) I also have pitting on the inner axle surface where the seal rides. It is drivable as-is and I have the luxury of planning for a "fix" in the future. I have searched this forum for the axle replacement options but this particular topic yields too many "hits" of marginal relevance. The purpose of this new thread is to assemble the best advice/experience of members into one place so that I and others can benefit from the vast experience of this group.
My criteria are that he truck is stock and I prefer to keep it that way. It has original drum brakes and leaf springs. The gearing is 3.92 but different gearing in a "new" axle would be fine, even preferred. No horsepower has been added beyond whatever the Y-block still puts out. I'd like to source a complete axle from a junk yard that bolts in and can use the drum brakes. This may be a pipe dream. Please disillusion me now rather than later. If an axle swap inevitably leads to disc brakes, so be it. That is not my preference, but I am sure my wife would like power disc brakes. So, what are my options? What have folks done? Please try to specific as to any mention of donor vehicles by including make, model, year and key drivetrain options that affect the rear-end configuration. Thank you.
Last edited by AllenV; 11-16-2020 at 11:41 AM.
Reason: added the measured movement
Short answer, the Dana 44 in F1/F100 trucks from 51-56 is the same and would be a direct bolt in. Unlikely you'll find a good one in a wrecking yard anymore, though, but they are still out there. More likely in one of the guy's here 'parts bin' out behind their garage. A search on craigslist may turn up a part or parts truck. Tons of them have been swapped out for a Ford 9". See below.
Longer answer, in 1957 the Dana was replaced with the now infamous Ford 9" rear end. The truck version that fits our trucks (F100) was used from 57-72. It is the same width and has the same spring perch mount location so it will drop in, as well. The axle tubes are a larger diameter which means your original attaching parts won't work, so it's ideal to get the U bolts and plates, nuts, etc., with the axle if you can. You may need to futz with the shock mounts and have the drive shaft altered slightly to fit, but these are easy things to do. The brakes are the same up to 67. In 68 they are the same diameter but got slightly wider, but work just the same. IIRC the e-brake cables even hook up the same. Gear ratio options are immense and are easy to change if you don't like what you have or would prefer something more highway friendly.
Bottom line, there's no need for rear disc brakes on a stock truck (meeting our forum criteria) and if you wanted to add a power booster in the future, the stock brakes are up to the task. There are other options but none of them will fit as easy or have the wheel bolt pattern the same, and your criteria was as stock as possible, so these are your most viable options.
My truck is a 1955 F100 (link to thread in signature.) Rust and rust pitting has caused the passenger-side wheel bearing to fit loosely in the shell. I can move the axle up and down noticeably. I don't have a measurement but perhaps as much as 1/32". (Perhaps I'll measure it later and post that info here.) I also have pitting on the inner axle surface where the seal rides. It is drivable as-is and I have the luxury of planning for a "fix" in the future. I have searched this forum for the axle replacement options but this particular topic yields too many "hits" of marginal relevance. The purpose of this new thread is to assemble the best advice/experience of members into one place so that I and others can benefit from the vast experience of this group.
My criteria are that he truck is stock and I prefer to keep it that way. It has original drum brakes and leaf springs. The gearing is 3.92 but different gearing in a "new" axle would be fine, even preferred. No horsepower has been added beyond whatever the Y-block still puts out. I'd like to source a complete axle from a junk yard that bolts in and can use the drum brakes. This may be a pipe dream. Please disillusion me now rather than later. If an axle swap inevitably leads to disc brakes, so be it. That is not my preference, but I am sure my wife would like power disc brakes. So, what are my options? What have folks done? Please try to specific as to any mention of donor vehicles by including make, model, year and key drivetrain options that affect the rear-end configuration. Thank you.
I have a stock Dana 44 Rear Axle with Drum Brakes and Original Leaf Springs laying in my back yard.
It's in "as removed" condition from a '55 F100
I don't know what it's worth, but it's available if you want it.
I live in Norman, Oklahoma.
Please let me know if you're interested.
Chris
bigwin56f100 had a complete original Dana 44 with 3.92:1 ratio for sale a few months when I was rebuilding mine and needed parts. The price was good and I would have purchased it, but, with me being on the west coast the shipping was expensive. Just another possibility for a complete original Dana 44 rear axle that fits correctly.
If you find a 1957-1972 9" like 52 Merc mentioned, get the brackets that go with it (lower saddles, spring u-bolt brackets). Otherwise the installation looks kind of "hacked".
For your application, I'd search for a good Dana 44 with a 3.92:1 ratio to keep it original and not even consider a 9" rear axle.
I have a stock Dana 44 Rear Axle with Drum Brakes and Original Leaf Springs laying in my back yard.
It's in "as removed" condition from a '55 F100
I don't know what it's worth, but it's available if you want it.
I live in Norman, Oklahoma.
Please let me know if you're interested.
Chris
Thanks, I'll keep this in mind. You're 560 miles east of me on I-40. That's the biggest barrier.
Short answer, the Dana 44 in F1/F100 trucks from 51-56 is the same and would be a direct bolt in. Unlikely you'll find a good one in a wrecking yard anymore, though, but they are still out there. More likely in one of the guy's here 'parts bin' out behind their garage. A search on craigslist may turn up a part or parts truck. Tons of them have been swapped out for a Ford 9". See below.
Longer answer, in 1957 the Dana was replaced with the now infamous Ford 9" rear end. The truck version that fits our trucks (F100) was used from 57-72. It is the same width and has the same spring perch mount location so it will drop in, as well. The axle tubes are a larger diameter which means your original attaching parts won't work, so it's ideal to get the U bolts and plates, nuts, etc., with the axle if you can. You may need to futz with the shock mounts and have the drive shaft altered slightly to fit, but these are easy things to do. The brakes are the same up to 67. In 68 they are the same diameter but got slightly wider, but work just the same. IIRC the e-brake cables even hook up the same. Gear ratio options are immense and are easy to change if you don't like what you have or would prefer something more highway friendly.
Bottom line, there's no need for rear disc brakes on a stock truck (meeting our forum criteria) and if you wanted to add a power booster in the future, the stock brakes are up to the task. There are other options but none of them will fit as easy or have the wheel bolt pattern the same, and your criteria was as stock as possible, so these are your most viable options.
Wayne, this is great information. Are these 9" rear-ends only in the F100/150 in the range of years you list? My ignorance is vast.
Wayne, this is great information. Are these 9" rear-ends only in the F100/150 in the range of years you list? My ignorance is vast.
The F150 wasn't introduced until the mid 70's. But yes, I am talking about F100 only from 57-72. The frame rail spacing on all Ford pickups got wider in 73 so all the mounting is different on 73 and later trucks. Newer models even have wider overall axle widths too. Best to shy away from newer stuff for best results. The 72 and earlier axles, literally you can jack up your truck, roll the Dana out and roll the 9" in place, drop the truck down and be good to go with only the minor alterations I discussed above. It's as close to a non-stock plug and play as you can get.
As an aside, I recently rebuilt my '54 Dana 44 after only having done axle bearings once about 25 years ago. I was prepared to go all in on any needed parts and the surprise was how clean the interior hard parts were. I was very comfortable basically doing a re-bearing and reseal with a cross shaft. I did the work as a preventative measure thinking that after 66 years it was time for a look. That said, the carrier and pinion bearings showed no witness of any eminent failure Speaks well of the design imo.
I think we have established options following my criteria of "as stock as practical" as:
1) An original Dana 44
2) A pre-1972 Ford 9" from an F100 with minor modification required as described above.
Thank you, Wayne, for the concise, yet complete, summary of the Ford 9"
Now I'd like to lift the constraint of "as stock as possible" and expand the discussion. For example, I see lots of mention of the Ford Explorer rear-end over some range of years as being widely used. Would someone care to summarize the pros-and-cons and useful years of this axle? ( I suspect disc brakes will factor-in here.) Is the Explorer's fraternal twin, the Ranger a player here? If not, why? What other donor vehicles/axles should the 50s F100 fan know about? And why?
The only axle swap I've been involved with was a 72 to a 52 and as has been said, bolted in like it belonged there. I read about the explorer and the welding spring perches and engineering of the brake system along with mismatched bolt patterns, figuring out brake cables. Sure looks like a lot of people use the explorer and there may well be kits out there for it. When it's all done you need to hope you chose the right gear or you have to find someone that can do gear setups. Neither type of rear is anywhere close to new by now and will require normal maintenance.
Well, I want to think I have been quite fortunate. A friend pointed me to a CL ad that just popped up this weekend. A gentleman at a small modification shop is selling a rear axle out of a 1961 F100. I was thinking 9" when I went to see it. This is what followed me home. Looks like a Dana 44 with 3.73 gears and limited slip. 44-1 is cast on the passenger side. I'd be pleased if someone could add more information as I did not know that a '61 truck would have this.
FYI: The shop was doing heavy modification of the '61 F100, including a four-link rear with crown vic axle. That is why the old axle was homeless.
Well, Allen, I'd say you were very fortunate indeed. As long as you're good with the 3.73's you're golden. "Back in the day" whenever someone ordered the limited slip diff option in the F100, Ford used the Dana 44 instead of using the 9". I don't know for sure the 'from when to when' dates that was optioned, or what the reasoning was. Perhaps this was prior to Ford having their own Equa-loc, or the Traction-loc limited slip that followed that, or if Ford thought the Dana part was heavier duty, or they didn't want to take their own parts away from car production, but that's the rare unit you've found.
My question to you is, are the axle tubes the same size as the earlier rear ends, like your stock one, or does it have the larger tubes like the 9" would?
Well, Allen, I'd say you were very fortunate indeed. As long as you're good with the 3.73's you're golden. "Back in the day" whenever someone ordered the limited slip diff option in the F100, Ford used the Dana 44 instead of using the 9". I don't know for sure the 'from when to when' dates that was optioned, or what the reasoning was. Perhaps this was prior to Ford having their own Equa-loc, or the Traction-loc limited slip that followed that, or if Ford thought the Dana part was heavier duty, or they didn't want to take their own parts away from car production, but that's the rare unit you've found.
My question to you is, are the axle tubes the same size as the earlier rear ends, like your stock one, or does it have the larger tubes like the 9" would?
I just put calipers on the tubes: The original on the truck is 2.5 inches while the new arrival is 2.75 inches. This does complicate the shock mounting. I am wide open to advice on solving that issue. The axle seller is going to give me the spring plates that were used on the '61, as soon as he has that crown vic axle mounted. That will attach the axle to the springs. But the shocks are homeless. suggestions?
I also did a rough measurement of the tube center to the pinion yoke where the u-joint sits. Although this is a tricky measurement they both eye-ball at about 12 inches. So maybe the driveshaft works without modification?
3.73 ought to be a nice improvement, so that's nice.
11-16-2020, 08:47 AM
