ford 9 inch

[drtstreet]

has anyone put a ford 9inch rear axle under their 60?
if so how much of a pain was it and what kind of power would it need to turn?
a friend of mines bronco is dying and he said i could have the rear for dirt cheep. any help would be apreciated...

 

[cruiser88]

has anyone put a ford 9inch rear axle under their 60?
if so how much of a pain was it and what kind of power would it need to turn?
a friend of mines bronco is dying and he said i could have the rear for dirt cheep. any help would be apreciated...

I cannot remember ...is a 9 inch offset?

 

[Isotel]

nope it centered.. Pretty Beef 3rd members, but the housings are a weak point.

 

[Mace]

9" axles have a wide range of possibilities..

Most likely it is the 29 spline small bearing unit. Which had thin housing walls and weak axles.

They do have a plethora of upgrades available though. And, if you wanted a centered rear axle they are not a bad choice at all. But a Bronco unit is not my first choice..

 

[cullmancruiser]

Is it an Early Bronco? (66-77) If so, the '76-77 axles were the good ones. AFIAK all the Early Bronco's used 28 spline axles which would be too weak for a 60, and also the housings would probably be too narrow. The '78 up to about '84 used the HD housings with 31 spline tapered roller bearing axles. These are the ones that are the most suited for a 60, but they are all centered so you would have to have them customized. These units would be plenty strong (especially if upgraded to 35 spline axles). Seems like it would be best to stay with the Toyota axle unless you are planning a drivetrain swap too.

 

[LCOwner]

EB axles are 58". A good fit for a 60 if you can find a late model with big bearings.

 

[freds40]

Might also look into a Nodular third as most stockers weren't and they aren't that strong. Especially with the weight of the 60 on it.

 

[Mace]

Might also look into a Nodular third as most stockers weren't and they aren't that strong. Especially with the weight of the 60 on it.

Once you start thinking about axle swaps, you might as well do it right.

The stock 9" is not much of an upgrade. If you are going to build one. Build it right with a new housing.


So you would need new shafts, third, gears possibly, locker possibly and a housing..

Build it from scratch

 

[drtstreet]

So what I'm getting from everyone that the 9 inch is not much of an upgrade, would just beefing up the stock toyota axles be better or is there something else that would be stronger?

 

[lehiguy]

So what I'm getting from everyone that the 9 inch is not much of an upgrade, would just beefing up the stock toyota axles be better or is there something else that would be stronger?

The Ford 9" has some admirable qualities, like three pinion bearings and four spider gears, but production shafts were all five-lug and early versions weren't great. I doubt that any version is stronger than the 9.5" LC diff. Have you broken your diff or did you just see a possible upgrade? Frankly, breakage doesn't happen too often with the fine-spined Land Cruiser diffs, they're just very, very strong, and pound for pound, you can't do any better. Farting around with the Ford 9" would be a waste of your time and money in my opinion.

 

[LCOwner]

If you're going to a centered rear diff then IMO a 9 is the way to go. You'll need new axles anyway so the 6 lug is taken care of and nodular thirds can be had in the aftermarket without trouble. A Detroit, spool or minispool takes care of the locker and explored rear discs w/e-brake is a nice option. Ask any drag racer why they don't use a 9 rather than an LC diff

 

[DBS311]

The Ford 9" has some admirable qualities, like three pinion bearings and four spider gears, but production shafts were all five-lug and early versions weren't great. I doubt that any version is stronger than the 9.5" LC diff. Have you broken your diff or did you just see a possible upgrade? Frankly, breakage doesn't happen too often with the fine-spined Land Cruiser diffs, they're just very, very strong, and pound for pound, you can't do any better. Farting around with the Ford 9" would be a waste of your time and money in my opinion.

Can't say that I necessarily agree with you on this. In my opinion, you can build a 9" to be a hell of a lot stronger than any LC axle out there. Sky is pretty much the limit. 35 spline 4340 axles with an ARB or Detroit, or even 40 spline with a spool. A nodular housing is needed to run those shaft sizes, but they can be had for little $$. Like LCOwner mentioned, drag racing guys with crazy horsepower use the 9" for a reason.

If you compare a stock LC rear with, say, a stock '66 Bronco rear......then yeah, the LC axle is beefier. But compare that to a '76-'77 EB rear with big bearings and 31 spline, and they are pretty even (diff wise).

Check out Sunray Engineering: 4x4 Powertrain Specialists and TrueHi9 - Home Page for some comparisons of the 9" to the Dana 60.

 

[lehiguy]

Can't say that I necessarily agree with you on this. In my opinion, you can build a 9" to be a hell of a lot stronger than any LC axle out there. Sky is pretty much the limit. 35 spline 4340 axles with an ARB or Detroit, or even 40 spline with a spool. A nodular housing is needed to run those shaft sizes, but they can be had for little $$. Like LCOwner mentioned, drag racing guys with crazy horsepower use the 9" for a reason.

If you compare a stock LC rear with, say, a stock '66 Bronco rear......then yeah, the LC axle is beefier. But compare that to a '76-'77 EB rear with big bearings and 31 spline, and they are pretty even (diff wise).

Check out Sunray Engineering: 4x4 Powertrain Specialists and TrueHi9 - Home Page for some comparisons of the 9" to the Dana 60.

All true, but that's not what he's after from the sound of it. Starting from scratch will all custom parts, the Ford 9 is unbeatable, and there is no argument abou that. Upgrading the Cruiser to chrommoly shafts would also be better than stock. I heard from a guy who used to have a LC shop here in SLC, that he had seen the strongest aftermarket shafts fail before the LC ring and pinion, speaking of the fine-spline obviously. I run a GM 14-bolt semi floater; it has six lug shafts, its cheap, easy to find and very stout. That was my goal, not some $1300 compilation of freaky parts.

 

[rchalmers3]

has anyone put a ford 9inch rear axle under their 60?
if so how much of a pain was it and what kind of power would it need to turn?
a friend of mines bronco is dying and he said i could have the rear for dirt cheep. any help would be apreciated...

Uh, am I missing something? What, if anything is wrong with your current axle? There are certainly improvements and repairs that can be made without putting some axle under there that is not a good fit. A complete used cruiser axle that bolts right in is what, $200???

Besides being cheap to purchase, the idea seems to get expensive and time consuming soon after!!!!

Rick

 

[freds40]

If you are looking for something you can build into a strong axle, a 9 inch is a decent way to go. If you are looking for a bolt on upgrade (minus the whole centered/offset thing) a 14 bolt or a 70 is the way to go. You would have to contend with the whole 8 lug thing though. Swapping in a Dana 60 isn't really any upgrade other than the full float as the stockers have 30 spline and the ring gear is also 9.5" like the FJ 60 axle.