Rear axle education please!
 

Hey guys,

I want to change gearing in my 94, I have 4.10's now and want to go to 3.55's. She never tows, and sees a lot of highway miles, so I am hoping to get another mpg or two. I saw this one out west in CA.

Parting out 1993 FORD FORD F250 PICKUP XL; S; XLT

That seems like a decent price. My 93 is still in CA, and I have a friend who can drive it out to Riverside to pick it up. It can sit in the back of the 93 until I bring it out to CO. I might try to get a package deal for the rear bumper and billet grill while I'm at it!

They are not open today, so I cant get any info. Does it seem worth it? I'm not sure if if it is a LS or not. What is the tendency for that axle? I imagine it is a Sterling, but i won't know for sure until Monday. I can get gears to change out my Dana 60 front for about 200 bucks here in Denver. Is that a good price or should I shop around? I won't be doing any of the work until spring or summer. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Mac.

Hi Mac,
$200 sounds like a pretty good deal, assuming it's in good shape. I don't know if there was any trend for whether it's likely to be a LS, but if anything, I'd think that more XLT trucks came with LS than XLs.
$200 for good quality D60 gears is pretty good.
(When you get ready to swap gears, I've got a good trick for getting the carrier in a D60 without a case spreader...)

Its been my experience that the 3.55s rarely have a limited slip. But every 4.10 ive found has had one. If youre 4.10s have a LS then drop it in the new rear.

Mac I am curious why you wouldnt just get a 3.55 or 3.75 ring and pinion set, you could regear the front and rear for maybe a little over $200?
Maybe we can work something out, I have a set of gears that are D60/S10.25 that are 3.55's and I want 4.10's.
Im sure it is a sterling 10.25.

IDIguy,

I've never played with a differential before, (ha ha I almost typed "rear end" there, probably never hear the end of it! lol) I have heard that meshing the gears right can be a pain. I figured it would be easier to just freshen up bearings and seals in the new axle and drop it in. I've done that before and it is a snap. Like I said, I won't be doing this until late spring or summer, but if that fits into your schedule I could definitely swap with you, but I might just get the rear axle in CA anyway. Around here 3.55 Sterlings aren't easy to come by.

Hairy,

I have never checked the axle or door tag in my 94, but I do know that when the back tires break loose in the snow, both wheels are definitely spinning. I'll have to look. So the LS is something that can be swapped? Like I said, I'm clueless about all of this.

Phy,

I'll hit you up when I'm ready, maybe we can knock out your timing at the same time if you still need it done.

Thanks again for the info,

Mac.

Ahahahahaha you know us all to well :-X04

X2
You got lucky on that one, Mac..:D

Mac, you'll still need to set up the gears in the D60, and it can be a pain. (I had them in & out of at least 10 times when I did mine...)
The LS is built into the ring gear carrier. Swapping carriers can still require shim changes, due to manufacturing tolerances. At the least, you should check the pattern before disassembly, and match it after the LS carrier is in. With used gears, if the pattern changes significantly, it will probably howl...

Yeah, I knew you guys would feast on that one!

Sounds tricky. I might just leave that one up to the shop. I got a referral from a reliable source, to a good axle guy. I might just call him for a price. It's a one and done kind of thing for a couple hundred thousand miles if it's done right isn't it?

Nice looking parts truck! Snag the wheels while you're at it. My $.02

Mike

mac, all 9th gen f250's are the HD (f350) platform.so all full floating sterling 10.25
'93-97 f250/350 trucks (minus the '97 light duty-diff new body style -an on ball thing) sport the more desirable long pinioned sterling.this one will be a direct bolt in without a conversion u-joint and will for 100% have the ABS/VSS sensor your looking for.
to find a gear set with LS.ask the yard/seller what the door jam code is.if it has a letter in the code,sh'e a limited slip.if it's simply 39 it's an open.also verified on the tag with or without the L. (for ls)
hope this helps some more.$200 is fair.likely can be scored for 100-150 price range privately.

if you have to swap gear sets or LS in,then you really need special tools and or preferably a shop who does it often imho.a lot more $.


p.s.
my god what a crying shame to part out and scrap such a solid looking 9th gen! they haven't looked that good here in Maine for 10-15 years!
(minus a very few survivors/garage queens or resto's like mine.)
sad.so sad.

If I had it to do over again, I'd have a shop set up the gears. It's tough to do without the special tools.
It's a lot to go through for a 4.10 to 3.55 change, but I understand wanting to get it the way you want...
(I've gone to ridiculous lengths to get things the way I want...)

Rear axle swaps are relatively quick, easy, and not very expensive. You can also CL your old axle and recover some cost. Personally I would never mess with a gear set swap unless you needed an odd ball ratio that you will never find pre-installed. I know like anything else it's no big deal if you have the right tools and experience, but an axle swap can be done in a few hours and is all set up, dialed in and ready to go. No worries about gear lash and pre load etc.

Ford,

I'd agree 100% as previously stated, my only concern is the limited slip, 6 months of the year here 8000 lbs of truck with crazy torque and 1 tire pushing you = in the wrong place at the right time! I am going to call on Monday morning and get them to check the axle tag for me. If it is a LS it is sold! I'll let it rust in the yard if a better option arises.

Even if it is LS, you might want to replace/re-shim the clutches. I've never done it, but I understand it's pretty easy.
My '93 has LS, but it's so worn it might as well be an open diff...