ford 9"

[casey]

Whats so great about a ford 9" rear end, Hows it better than anything GM put out

[Reumster]

"The Best Never Rest!"

I'm not one to deny the truth, So I will say it the best rear end ever made, or at least the most popular! LOL

[adamls]

The 9" is def. stronger than a 12 bolt and a lot easier to work on without the use of c-clips. The 12 bolt is lighter and does not rob as much power as the 9". A stock 12 bolt will withstand up to about 500 hp and it is all Chevy. They just did a piece in Chevy Hi Performance on the subject.

[mikep]

The 12 bolts they were talking about were passenger car 12 bolts which are considerably stronger than truck 12 bolts. That seems sort of ass backwards but these trucks never came equipped with fast shifting 4 speeds and 450 horsepower big blocks that were constantly having their clutches dropped at 5000rpm . The passenger car rear end is a great rear end with a few minor changes such as a c clip eliminator kit but the 12 bolt truck is just so-so. Thin webs in the case and a weak carrier are hard to band-aid .

The 9 inch is often derided as being inneficient but its something like a 2% difference in effiency. They have a wider gear contact patch to account for that due to a lower pinion mount . That and the front supported pinion and the lack of C clips make them stronger than the 12 bolt chevy passenger. Dont mix apples and oranges though. The truly strong 9 inch carriers have nodular double finned carriers and those are damned near impossible to find in junkyards. Also you need to make sure its a 31 splined carrier and a trac loc at that as most were 28 spline and ford has never been generous with their posi's. 9 inch trac locs do tend to wear out the clutches somewhat quickly too.

The thing is Ford 9 inches are widely touted as being the best rear end out there but what did Ford do when they put a rear end under their 3/4 tons? They use a Dana 60 .

[Johns70]

uh oh i messed up. my last project when i got rid of it, i gave the guy a 9 inch pumkin with the factory locker or posi with 3.54 gears.it came out of a mid to late sixties t-bird

[mikep]

No big loss . That would have been a 28 spline 3.50 geared ( Fords funny about their ratios ) trac loc carrier . Ive given them away too.

[crazy longhorn]

Well, dont let anybody bs you on the 9" ford. Yes they do take a little more power to run (not a bunch), but most of the stockers have 28 spline axles.......but the weak point is in the housing itself. If you look at any doorslammer thats running hard on the strip, you will see a brace welded across the back of the housing, & for d@mn good reason! Yes they can be built stout......but you are many dollars away from that factory setup. Imo, if I need something tougher than the 12 bolt.........it will be a dana 60.......crazyL