Ford 9.75" Swap?

[nubreed71]

And that's not sketchy at all? No experience with that sorta thing.

[philofab]

I've done it on axles for hot rods without issue. The guy that taught me how to do it did it on a lot of axles over 30+ years and we never heard of a failure. It was very common to do before aftermarket axles became easily accessible and affordable.

[ChaseTruck754]

Living breath person that posted the ad here. Rear end is measured with the rotors on but it i 76". 7 " wider than a stock 9.75. Finding axles is a pain in the ass as no one makes them in the bearing size. Spoke with Dutchman Yukon and a few others to make these axles in a 5 lug. The other way is to go solid industries and go 6 lug in the front. They said they would make the hubs and would be their standard price but it would be with Chevy stub shafts and chevy d44 parts.

Based on your numbers that non Raptor axle would be 69". People are saying 70-70.5". Yes it's a small difference, but I'd like to hear what it actually is, from someone with one sitting right in front of them.

I've done it on axles for hot rods without issue. The guy that taught me how to do it did it on a lot of axles over 30+ years and we never heard of a failure. It was very common to do before aftermarket axles became easily accessible and affordable.

Yup. it's been done before, many times and for a long number of years.

[nubreed71]

Agreed. I'd like to see a measurement as well. If it's 69", then there's really not much advantage over the trussed econoline 9" that I already have sitting in the garage. If it's 70.5", then I'd be a bit more tempted.

[Nick]

There's one for sale on rdc. The guy says it's 76"s wms to wms.

[nubreed71]

He was posting on this thread 5-6 posts back Nick. Apparently he was struggling to find replacement axles to change the bolt pattern to 5x5.5"

So let's say you get the axles welded and re-drilled, what about finding brake rotors with the right bolt pattern? Get E-150 rotors from the early 2000 model years?

[ChaseTruck754]

I've got a list of slide on, 5x5.5 lug pattern rotors that might work. I've got some dimensions on it so you'd have to verify the diameter of the axle end/flange where the studs press in & see if any of the rotors would slide over, but it shouldn't be super hard to find one I don't think.

[philofab]

Rotors should center on the center hub. Open the holes on a 5 lug rotor or redrill the rotors.

Pre 2005 E150 rear rotors may be the same also. Unless you use the correct style rotor you will not be able to keep the parking brake.

If I remember right, the last rear axle I got from Dynatrax had late model F150 brakes on it with a 5x4.5 pattern, so they may be able to sell the correct rotors also.

135mm = 5.31, so it's really close.

[ChaseTruck754]

Forgot about the parking brake being a drum in these rotors, so yeah, do any of what Philo lists.

On my sterling 10.5 I put in the crew & had converted to 8x6.5 lug pattern (it's 8x170mm stock) it's the same deal and I just opened up the holes a bit on the rotors to fit the new pattern. 170mm = 6.69" so it's close to 6.5", just like the 135mm thing Philo mentioned above. Granted my truck sill isn't running, so I can't tell you how well it works from personal experience, but I'm not nervous about it as the difference in hole size really isn't much at all. Plus my buddy did the same thing on his & he's been driving, towing, etc. on his for about a year & a half now with zero issues.

[nubreed71]

Cool, sounds like rotors aren't a major worry then. I guess all we have to nail down is the exact WMS width on this thing to see if it's worth all the trouble.

[Mojo]

If everything goes like normal at work today, I will get the WMS width off my '02 supercrew this evening when I get home.

[nubreed71]

Did a little more digging tonight. Can you tell I had a wild New Years?

According to Rockauto, the shafts in the links below are the same length as the shafts for a 2002 F-150 replacement axle shaft, but come in 5x5.5"

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mgr-mg25144/overview/

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mgr-mg25143/overview/

Assuming that the axle from a 2002 F-150 truly is 70.5", you could source a junkyard axle, replace the shafts and rotors, slap some gears and a locker in there, do the Giant truss kit, and you;d have a pretty solid axle. Problem is though, you'd have basically the same money into it as a 9" if you figure the following:

Junkyard axle - $400
Locker - $500
Gears - $250
Shafts - $250
Gear install/setup - $400
Giant Truss Kit + install - $700
Rotors - $150
Powder coat housing - $250
Total - $2900

That's assuming you pay retail for all the parts above. I guess if you can get deals you could cut that cost down a little bit.

[philofab]

With those axle lengths it's likely only 1-2" wider than a truck 9". The 9" axle shafts are 32" long.

[nubreed71]

Unless the center section is a lil wider than a 9" also. But can't be that much wider. Regardless, if the costs listed above are even close to accurate, seems like building a 9" would be just as easy and somewhat similar in cost.

[philofab]

Unless the center section is a lil wider than a 9" also. But can't be that much wider. Regardless, if the costs listed above are even close to accurate, seems like building a 9" would be just as easy and somewhat similar in cost.

The space between side gears in the diff is usually pretty similar between different types of rear ends. Remember, the cross shaft keeps the axles from sliding in enough for the c-clip to fall out.

[Mojo]

If everything goes like normal at work today, I will get the WMS width off my '02 supercrew this evening when I get home.

Rough measurement without taking the wheels off looks like 67".

[nubreed71]

If that's the case, then probably not worth all the hassle. I guess it was a good exercise to explore, but the 9" is probably still the most cost effective solution.

[philofab]

Based on the wheel offset and shock differences, the 06+ body style probably has a wider rear end then a 97-04/05.

The van rear end should be wider than the truck rear end so the early 2000 E150 van rear is still possibly a candidate.

[BDKW1]

135mm = 5.31, so it's really close.

If you got to 5/8 studs with a large knurl, the hole is large enough that it will cover the existing holes. No welding or plugging needed.

[fomoco51]

I did the brakes on my wifes supercrew a few months back and measured the axle, hoping it was wider. If im not mistaken it was 65.5 or 66.