New Rear Axle

[BigRedFord04]

On the way back from Llano this weekend i was getting a crap load of driveline vibration so i stopped at a gas station only to find after removing the rear driveshaft that the nut that hold the input flange onto the pinion on the 8.8" was barely finger tight, the whole axle was hot as sh!t and had barely any gear oil in it, took a full two quarts to fill it up. Evidently the front pinion seal has gone south and has caused the pinion bearing to fukk up. So basically i'm in need of a new rear axle. I had been looking @ 8 lug stuff for a while (60's, 70's, and maybe the 10.25") but have now decided that a 9" is the way to go for now. A friend of mine in Dallas has been pulling them out of Awesome auto left and right for $30 and reselling them for upwards of $150. I talked to him and he's pretty confident that he can machine the carrier to accept the tone ring, and drill and tap the housing to fit the speed sensor. None of this really sounds all that difficult to me, and he is fairly competent when it comes to this kinda stuff. Has anyone ever known anyone to do this? I'm just kinda looking for input and ideas about all this, just seems like the best way to go since i REALLY dont want to buy another set of 4.88s for the 8.8"...thus far it has been "living on borrowed time" anyway.

[eight]

Is a 9" really much better than the 8.8?

[BigRedFord04]

thats what i've always been told....i would assume that it is since thats what suray uses almost exclusively on all their rigs is some form of hybrid 9".

[StevenAg03]

there isnt a whole lot of diferrence in the 8.8 and the 9"....there are a few main weaknesses of the 8.8 though. the stock carrier is prone to failure. also the 9" is the only axle where the gears get stronger as you go to deeper gears.


Austin, are you sure that when the gears were set up, they torqued the pinion nut all the way down and crushed the crush sleeve. when we did mine we didnt get it done all the way. the first stop for gas on the way to MOAB we found the problem. the torque on the pinion(from pulling lissa's TJ) sucked the pinion bearings to where they needed to be. this left a bit of play in the pinion and consequently all the fluid leaked out of the housing. just as you described, the housing was hot as hell. we torqued the pinion nut down to the right specs( 150 lb/ft), filled her up with gear oil, and headed on down the road. by the next stop all the gear oil burned out as a result of it being so hot in the diff. we refilled it again and headed on. it was fine after that.


have you taken the rear end apart to actually see if the bearings were fawked up? the torque you put on it in 4 lo might have caused the same thing that happened to mine.

[StevenAg03]

Originally posted by BigRedFord04
thats what i've always been told....i would assume that it is since thats what suray uses almost exclusively on all their rigs is some form of hybrid 9".


the reason they use them is that they are third members. the whole thing can be removed and worked on.

[BigRedFord04]

this is the 3rd time i've had to retorque the pinion nut since xmas. i'm pretty sure my book said 250 ft/lbs which is what i set it to the other two times. Yes, i am positive that the gears were set up correctly. we reused the old crush sleeve b.c. for some reason the install kit didnt have one. either way, its been in my plans to replace the axle, now it'll just have to get done sooner. I'd like to find a 9" and get all the machining done to make it accept the tone ring b.c. i checked earlier by disconnecting the plug, and no, the speedo doesnt work w/ it disconnected so it obviously doesnt JUST control the ABS like some have told me. I think finding a 9" would end up being cheaper anyway, even if i have to pay to get it machined b.c. w/ a 60 or 70 i'd have to buy new 8 lug rims. we'll see how everything comes out, but for all who are reading, i am looking for a 9"...CHEAP!...i'll post in the wanted section too. i've already looked on POR and Ebay, not much there. keep an eye out for me.

no, i havent had time to disassemble the rear end yet, and i'm really hoping that the gears arent fukked up b.c. i'd like to sell them and recover some of my losses. we'll see. i'm just gonna drive it 'til it dies or i get something else, whichever comes first.

[JB]

i have a 9in in my garage. It's yours for $75

[fbronco86]

i have a 9 inch for yeah austin. it has a detroit locker too. its all rebuilt new bearings all around.

[BigRedFord04]

Originally posted by fbronco86
i have a 9 inch for yeah austin. it has a detroit locker too. its all rebuilt new bearings all around.
how much? what gears?

[BigRedFord04]

mike, i'll take that axle. since i know you're not going to chilifest why dont you go get it from Brenham for me this weekend :D

i posted on POR asking about the speedo sensor problem with fitting the tone ring on a detroit. one guy suggested that i call currie, which i did, and talked to one of their techs. he said its not really feasible to make it fit and there was a much better option, Abbott Enterprises (www.atrol.com). I called them, 1.800.643.5973, and they said that they make a box that is ADJUSTABLE to gear ratios and different size tires that can be adapted to fit the factory speedo sensor wires. Basically it works like a garage door frequency changer by moving switches up and down to change the variance for ground speed. Problem solved for $140, and it can be adjusted as often as i like. Gives me the ability to use any axle i want, i just cant pass up the deal Mike is making me on his 9" w/ Detroit.