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Old Jul 12, 2004 | 07:40 PM
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1990Fordf150v8's Avatar
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Rear End Question

My friend is gonna sell me his 1989 Ford F-150 for parts and it has a rear end with a code 12 on it what is it and will it work in my 1990 F-150 that has a code 19 rear end in it with 3.55 gears. Thanks again everyone.
 
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Old Jul 12, 2004 | 10:09 PM
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Code 12 is an 8.8" axle with 2.73 gears and an open diff, according the the axle decoder on this website. The axle should fit but the gears are significantly higher ratio than what you have.
 
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Old Jul 12, 2004 | 10:21 PM
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you mean it has higher gears meaning less power?
 
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Old Jul 12, 2004 | 11:49 PM
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i have the 2.73 in my truck. its pretty bad. most people w/this ratio try and change to 3.55's. if you dicide to switch i'll take your 3.55's haha.
 
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Old Jul 13, 2004 | 09:21 PM
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Yes, higher gear ratio (numerically lower) usually means less power. In your case it would be a decrease in power and the overdrive gear in your transmission would be practically useless anymore, since your truck would feel like it's in 'overdrive' all the time with the high axle gears.
 
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Old Jul 13, 2004 | 10:04 PM
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Jessfactor, I don't think you would like my 3.55's cause there gone, there's alot of play in the rear end.

socal, so your saying that rear end would not be good for my truck that has a AOD tranny and a 302. the truck that the 2.73 rear end is coming out of has i think a c5 tranny and a 300. that truck has hauled a full 8 foot bed of fire wood a few hundred times.
 
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Old Jul 13, 2004 | 10:26 PM
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I had an '84 F150 300 six with a 4 speed manual OD tranny and a 2.47 rear end. You could not run overdrive in a headwind. The overdrive on my '95 F150 300 six with Mazda 5 speed is about like third gear on the '84. One thing nice about the high (low number) rear end in the '84 was that first gear could wind out to about 45 mph, so once you were rolling you could floor it and really move and pretty much be up to freeway speed before shifting out of second. Was kinda fun.
 
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Old Jul 14, 2004 | 12:20 AM
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Yes, that is what I'm saying. Your 302 needs to run at a higher rpm than the truck with the 300 six in it, since that inline-6 makes it's power at alot lower rpm range than the 302 does. You'll be well below the powerband of the 302 with those 2.73 gears. The baseline factory ratio for a 302 F150 of your year is 3.08 and even that is on the high side. Your 3.55 gears are a much better choice.
 
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Old Jul 14, 2004 | 07:30 AM
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ok thanks socal, also how much do you think it will cost me to have the rear end rebuilt?
 
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Old Jul 14, 2004 | 08:38 AM
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With my ears close to the ground on this issue, I am hearing the 3.78 behind OD is getting the best gas milage. I wouldn't recommend any less than 3.55.

John
 
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Old Jul 14, 2004 | 08:17 PM
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Since you were talking about a worn out ring and pinion set earlier and I assume all bearings and seals would need replaced too, you're probably looking at $500-750. Call up a local axle/driveline shop and get a quote.
 
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