Ok Guys,
Someone said that after 85 Ford only put Sterlings in their 250s and that the front diff were Dana's?

Speaking about 302w & 351c (not to open a can of worms) what is the main differance between a 302w,351c and a 351m.
I may as well get as much knowledge as I can from this discussion.

Don

 

It's my understanding that the full floating F-250 HD and F-350 rear axles are the Sterling 10.50" diff. The regular F-250 had the semi floating Sterling 10.25 axle. The fronts are Dana 44's 50's and 60's. Unless your truck has the snow plow package then you most likely have the dana 44 TTB front axle.

As for the difference between the windsor, cleavland and modified engines... That is a can of worms. The C and M are closely related, but the W is a compleatly different engine. I know the 400M uses the same bell housing as the 429/460, can any one confirm if the 351M uses the same bell housing? You can put Cleavland heads on a Windsor block, but you need a special manifold and it's not excatly a direct bolt on. With all the good W heads available now it's not worth doing.

In my opinion the W engines are much better. If I bought a truck with a C/M I'd swap in a 460 or a windsor...

 

Thanks David,
How do you tell the difference, and what do you mean by full floating - semi-floating, or 10.25 or 10.50 or 9" for that matter. Is that the size of the ring gear in diameter?
As for snow package? Who knows? It was a government vehicle way up north and you know the government when it comes to spending our money,... they have no problem. LOL but thats a whole other problem and not made for this time and place.
If I recall the 460 was a engine that that they used in the T-Bird a number of years ago. A real gas guzzler not worth the extra power that it gave.
Don

 

The 351C is pretty much a motor to it's self. The 351M/400 is noted the little brother of the 351C. Share very little. The 351M is just a destroked 400. You can take the Crank and all from a 400 and install it in the 351M to make it a 400. The Bellhousing bolt pattern from the 351M/400 are the same as the 429/460.
Just the tranny and the dizzy only thing that will inter change between the 351M/400's and 429/460's. The early 70's was the last of the C blocks. Which made way for the FE blocks. Then it 76 or 77 the FE blocks gave way for the 351m/400's til the early 80's. The 429/460 was mostly found in cars til 79. could be had in 2wd trucks. It wasn't til 79 when the 460 could be had in 3/4 and 1 ton 4x4 auto trucks only. then 80+ you could only get 300 I6, 302 and 351W's. Not including the 351m/400 you get til 83? in 3/4 and 1 ton trucks. it wasn't til 85 when the 302 only could be had with EFI. it was late 87 early 88 when the 351 was EFI. To really learn lots about the motors pick up a good shop manual that covers a few years of trucks or find books over that motor. It much easier understood but thats IMO

 

gigabyteman, full-floating and semi-floating refers to how the wheel attaches to the axle (basically) In a semi floating axle, the wheel bolts to the axle shaft. The axle shaft rides inside a bearing at the end of the axle tube. The bearing is inside the axle tube. If the axle shaft is retained by a c-clip then a broken axle can cause the wheel to seperate from the axle.

On a full floating axle, the wheel rides on a hub that has bearings inside that ride on the outside of the axle tube. The axle shaft passes through the center and bolts to the hub. If the shaft breaks, the wheel stays attached. You can actually replace the shaft with the truck on the ground and the wheel still on...

the 10.25", 9" ect is the diameter of the ring gear, and there are many ways to ID an axle, but it's just something you learn by reading and looking at pictures and axles that you know.

As for the 460 being worth it or not... You'll get people that are on both sides. Some will say it's the best, some will say it's the worst. I've never owned one so I can't say for sure.

 

To tell the difference between the rear axles, look at the pumpkin itself. Standing behind the truck, look at the rear diff. If the rear cover doesn't have any bolts, it's a 9". If it is an out of round cover, a bolt on cover with a lot of bolts showing it could be the light or the heavy weight axle. Look at the hubs at the rear wheels. If the hub is flush with the wheel it is a light weigh axle. If the hub sticks out through the wheel it is the heavy weight but in an earlier post you said your gvw was the 6300 so you should have the light weight rear.

 

Txquadhunter24, I knew the C and M were somewhat different, but I thought the M was based off the C, and they are similar in appearance. Is this true or do I have it wrong?

As for the FE engines coming after the C's... The FE's started in '58 and they ran through '76. The C's ran in cars starting in about 69, and the M's ended in trucks around '82 - '83.

 

Here, I found a writeup on the M and C engines. http://www.fordcobraengines.com/Modified%20History.htm

 

No, it refers to the axleshaft itself. A full-floating axleshaft bears NO weight - it merely transfers torque from the differential to the hub. In a sense, it can "float" within the axle housing.

A semi-floating axleshaft bears weight on one end (the outer end) and floats on the other end (the inner end, in the diff). People generally refer to semi-floating axles as weaker, but a thick semi is stronger than a thin full. Take a look at an Expedition 8.8" axleshaft if you ever get the chance - it's MASSIVE at the outer end.

 

steve83, I know what you mean, I just didn't know how to describe it. I Thought about the wheel because if a full floating axle shaft breaks, the wheel won't come off.