I have a 76 F250 2x4 Camper Special 390 4bb. Does anyone know how I can find out which rear end it is ? I have looked for tags but no luck. on the door tag it stated 37E for the axle but cannot find what that means. Any help would be appreciated.

John

 

John,

I believe the door tag will only give the axle ratio and if it has open or limited slip. The axle tag has the information on the axle housing and everything associated with it.

If the tag is missing you'll have to find a "axle expert" in your area to help you out.

Steve

 

That is what I am trying to figure out, if it is limited slip or single wheel only. What does open mean? I got the truck as a very good deal with less than 900 miles on a rebuild andf was intending on pulling a boat but am a bit leery of backing down a wet boat ramp with a single wheel drive :-) Thanks again for you help!!!

 

jack up one rear wheel try turning that wheel with trans in neutral, if it turns you have an open rear end

 

maybe you could get ahold of ford cus svc and request info based upon your vin.

 

I will try that tomorrow and see what happens . I guess if it is open I need to find out if changing the guts out will get me limited slip. I appreciate the help. I have owned Ford pickups since 78 and put 450,000 on one with a 300 3 on the tree and it still didn't use a quart of oil between changes. Wrote Ford in Jan. and they sent me a calendar in August . HA! Called me a valued customer HA. Sorry I had to throw that in. Thanks again.

 

if you do decide to put in a "limited" slip don't waste money on the factory one. get something like a detroit, or air locker, then it won't wear out in 10k miles and you will have FULL lock when you want it.if you end up buying anyway, the cost difference isn't that bad. my 05 with 88k the factory limited slip, i have to be moving and keep wheelspeed at 30-50 mph for the wheels to stay locked, that wouldn't help you much on a boat ramp

 

Thread moved to the '73-79 F-series forum.

 

Welcome to FTE

All 1973/79 F250's have the Dana 60 rear axle.

AXLE code 37E:

37 = Dana 60 / 3.54-1 / non Limited Slip / 5200 lb. Rear Axle Capacity.

E = Are you sure this is an E?

E is not listed for 1976, only for 1977/79.

E = 1977/79 4WD Dana 44 Front Driving Axle with Power Steering.
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The doors are the same 1973/79. Compare the VIN on your registration with the VIN on the Warranty Plate to see if they match.

People swapped left doors due to damage. In most cases, they did not install the truck's original Warranty Plate on the replaced door.

If the VIN does not match, the AXLE code may not be correct.

The Dana 60's ID tag is bolted to the axle housing to the left of the inspection cover.

The tag is 2" x 1/2" and uses two bolts to attach it.

The Dana ID number will be either 7 or 8 digits, like these two examples: 603010-1 or 603010-11.

Post what the code is, I can decode it.
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If the VIN matches, post the last 6 digits of the VIN, which when decoded will tell the exact year.

You may have a 1977.

If the production date listed on the white Certification Label is from August thru December of the previous year, the vehicle is the next years model.

 

Perhaps in the over thirty years of this trucks life, something has been changed?????

Remove the 10 bolts from the "inspection" cover and look inside. You will immediately know what you have, and you can verify the grear ratio, condition of the gears, as you will get to change the fluids. This takes all of the guess work out of the equation.
Only takes a few moments.

 

Thanks very much , I am sure its an E but you are right that the door quite possibly has been changed as the truck has been painted . I am going to take the inspection cover off tomorrow and check . My next question is can I swap out the 3rd member and axles to get limited slip using the Dana 60 housing ? I want to thank you both for your very helpful answers.

 

Okay , cover is off and I have the tag number 6037 16 20
Thee numbers above are 3 54 D6TA KGA

 

Jacked up both wheels and in drive while running you can stop either wheel and the other one will turn .

 

The "3 54" means you have 3.54:1 gears.

The space in between the 3 and 54 would be an "L" if it was a limited-slip.

 

Thanks Art, Now I am sick :-( ouch . So I have to make a decision as to what I am gonna do with the truck .........I have ownd 78 and 79 Ford pick-ups since 78 . How hard is it to change out the guts and still use that housing or do I need to replace the whole rear end to get positrack or limited slip?