I have a 2007 E-150 99,657 miles with the semi-floating D60 with 4:10 gears. The pinion bearings are trashed. I'm interested in swapping in a full floating E-350 D60 with 4:11 gears. Are the rear wheel hub centers the same between the 150 and 350? Will the 350 brakes work with the 150 ABS system? Both are disc brake systems. I assume (I know) I'll have to have a conversion U-joint to mate up to the bigger full floating D60 to my stock driveshaft. No shop in my area will touch the axle to re-build it. They will do a straight swap with a reman for around $4000-4500. I can rebuild it, but I don't have a shop to do it in. I'm to old and beat up to do it laying on the ground in the dirt. Swapping, while being difficult for me is possible, it isn't the same as setting gears up with tight tolerances. Thanks for any help or insight.

 

Welcome to FTE.

You will find no interchange between these axles.

Keep looking for an OEM axle for the E-150.

Trying to swap the other one in there is going to be a headache and will drain your wallet with little to no payback.

 

Well, that is quite disheartening. I can't find a replacement with a 4:10/4:11 ratio. All I can find around me are the full floating 250/350 axles. The 150 axles are 3:73, 3:55, or higher ratio. I want my van to run and perform like OE.

 

Your E150 is essentially a derated E250... not sure why Ford bothered with this they should have just dropped the E150 badge. But that is good news for you as it means an axle from another 07+ E series is a direct bolt-in. The D60 full float is not any larger physically than the semi float version and I doubt there would be any difference in the driveshaft mounting flange if you source a late model axle, but that can be addressed fairly easily if there was. But note that this applies to E series passenger and cargo vans only, you cannot use an axle from an E series cab & chassis truck as they are totally different.

Are you saying a shop wants $4500 to swap axles?

 

I stand corrected. I forgot about the last of the 150s with 250 running gear.....

 

Thanks for the info.

The cheapest I found was $4500 for a reman. The reman consist of an empty housing like mine with the differential set up. Everything else out board of the differential from my original axle will have to be moved over to the reman. They would also refresh the brakes and replace the brake lines. It seems way high to me.

 

It's pretty damn easy to replace ALL the bearings in YOUR rear end
Easier than an axle swap
All you have are 4 wheel bearings, 2 case bearings and 2 pinion bearings
Don't fret
About 8 hours of shop labor plus the parts, maybe 1100 bucks if you find a decent shop

 

Yes, I use to be an auto tech at a 4x4 shop and axles were my thing. Have you read any of my thread posts? I have already searched out a shop over the last few months. None will touch it unless it's a reman axle going in. That's just a reman differential in an otherwise empty housing, using everything else from my old axle, at a cost of around $4500. I really think they over price some stuff because they don't want the job unless someone is really willing to pay.

I'm older and beat up. I can't roll around on the ground under my van rebuilding an axle. I don't have access to facilities to make it easier on me. I don't have a jack that can lift high enough to put it on stands. I also don't have stands or solid ground to work on. I sold all of my tools and equipment when the last shop I worked for closed down, owner retired.

The reason the rear axle pinion bearings failed was due to improper pinion installation at the factory. The ring and pinion have signs of wear which means the pinion depth wasn't properly set. I've heard tails of some of these axles having the yoke nut over over torqued at the factory and burn through the pinion bearings. I'm second owner of the van. The first owner was a vending company. I got to talk to the fleet maintenance manger. He told me the issues with the rear axle. It's been howling since it hit 70,000 miles roughly, now at 99,000 something. I popped the cover off and pulled the spider gears to confirm. I couldn't check backlash because of the slop in the pinion bearings. The carrier bearings and axle bearings are still tight and smooth. If it isn't broke, don't fix it. OE stuff is usually better than aftermarket these days. Dana offers a pinion rebuild specifically for this axle. That is going by the bill of materials code on the axle tag, not just my VIN and me telling them it's a D60 semi floater.