rear axle rebuild
Thread Starter
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Trailering
Joined: Jun 2021
Posts: 17
Likes: 5
From: Ozark mountains
rear axle rebuild
I have a good 1993 F150 with some slack in the drive train. I can run through the gears OK with no big clunk or jerk if I shift carefully. But there is noticeable slack occasionally on the up or down shift.
When I put the back wheels on jack stands and turn the drive shaft with trans in neutral there is approximately ¾ to 1 inch of slack on the circumference of the shaft before the rear wheels begin to turn. This sounds excessive to me. U-joints are good. There may be a little slop in the transmission but looks to me that the majority is in the rear end.
Looking for someone to rebuild the rear axle on this 1993 F150, 200K miles, 2 wd. A 4.9 L, 5 speed stick, with 8.8 differential, 3.73 ring and pinion. I do not trust Jegs or Jasper for a remanufactured axle assembly due to many bad reviews. Any opinions, or someone located in North East Kansas/Northwest MO who will rebuild the axle assembly from parts ordered from Summit Racing. It appears they have all the parts to my axle assembly.
It is a solid metal truck I want to make a dependable daily driver for years to come. Advice, opinions, a mechanic experienced with these old trucks near me who wants to make a few bucks??
When I put the back wheels on jack stands and turn the drive shaft with trans in neutral there is approximately ¾ to 1 inch of slack on the circumference of the shaft before the rear wheels begin to turn. This sounds excessive to me. U-joints are good. There may be a little slop in the transmission but looks to me that the majority is in the rear end.
Looking for someone to rebuild the rear axle on this 1993 F150, 200K miles, 2 wd. A 4.9 L, 5 speed stick, with 8.8 differential, 3.73 ring and pinion. I do not trust Jegs or Jasper for a remanufactured axle assembly due to many bad reviews. Any opinions, or someone located in North East Kansas/Northwest MO who will rebuild the axle assembly from parts ordered from Summit Racing. It appears they have all the parts to my axle assembly.
It is a solid metal truck I want to make a dependable daily driver for years to come. Advice, opinions, a mechanic experienced with these old trucks near me who wants to make a few bucks??
FTE Legend
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 31,930
Likes: 1,499
From: Ottawa, Ontario
Is the axle leaking or seaping any fluid around the pinion or axle seals? It is normal to have a fair bit of "slack" through the differential, but you should remove the rear cover and inspect all the parts closely for damage and any wear, and if none is obvious seal it back up and fill with fresh fluid. When the cover is off you will be able to see all the diff gears in action and that should give you a better understanding of how it works, I suspect what you will find is a little bit of slack at each gear contact that adds up to quite a bit in total, and unfortunately even brand new parts will produce much the same result.
Also note that 3.73 gears was not a factory option in these truck, if that is what you have that is good but the common ratios for a 4.9 truck include 2.73 3.08, and 3.55. If it turns out your truck has one of those high gear ratios.. (do you need to slip the clutch a lot to get moving from a stop?) and you decide to have the axle rebuilt that would be a good time to change the ratio to something more sensible like 3,55. The axle code on the drivers door pillar decodes to indicate the factory gear ratio, see here.. Ford Axle Code Chart - Ford-Trucks.com
Also note that 3.73 gears was not a factory option in these truck, if that is what you have that is good but the common ratios for a 4.9 truck include 2.73 3.08, and 3.55. If it turns out your truck has one of those high gear ratios.. (do you need to slip the clutch a lot to get moving from a stop?) and you decide to have the axle rebuilt that would be a good time to change the ratio to something more sensible like 3,55. The axle code on the drivers door pillar decodes to indicate the factory gear ratio, see here.. Ford Axle Code Chart - Ford-Trucks.com
Thread Starter
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Trailering
Joined: Jun 2021
Posts: 17
Likes: 5
From: Ozark mountains
My mistake keystroke error. It is a 2.73 ring and pinion. No leaking. I drained and replaced the axle lube a few months ago. Did not see anything that looked overworn and no excess metal shavings in the drainage. Did the transmission at the same time and it certainly shifts smoother. The clutch seems to operate OK from first gear if I go slow and hit the sweet spot and certainly never slips.
This is the tag on the differential bolt:
S842B
273 88 3F24
This is the tag on the differential bolt:
S842B
273 88 3F24
Last edited by zorro101; Nov 23, 2022 at 02:08 PM. Reason: added the bit about the clutch
FTE Legend
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 31,930
Likes: 1,499
From: Ottawa, Ontario
Yep that is a 2.73 open diff which makes the truck not suitable for towing... in case you were wondering. That ratio would drive me nuts, had a Ranger with 3.08 gears and even with tiny little 14" tires it was aggrivating to drive... reverse was impossible to use without constantly slipping the clutch. If you wanted a better ratio an axle swap would be a good way to get there, 3.55 gears were very common in the 5.0 and 5.8 1/2 ton trucks and many of those also got the TrakLok LS diff from the factory, if you sourced an axle like this from donor or scrap yard you could refresh it at your leasure and swap it under the truck when ready. The same 8.8 alxe was used in all the '87-96 F150 trucks so this would be a relatively straight forward bolt-in upgrade.
