Ford 9" Swap Pointers

[D's Jeep Wrld]

Hello yall! Dylan here
Any pointers/recommendations/things to look out for on this ford 9" swap?

So long story short I'm on my 3rd dana 44 gearset,The 3rd one im on still lets me drive but the axle dont sound too happy
....it was a stout unit but ever since I AX15 swapped my Lj it unlocked the potential to be able to do fun stuff,Donuts&drifts and burnouts! all which involves dumping the clutch. But yeah

Parts I have in hand:
*Currie ford 9" housing for a 67-70 Mustang Only "dilemma" is that the bare housing from Flange to flange is 54" the stock Tj 44 housing is closer to 55.25 Ish inches or so
*Currie nodular 3rd member,I just need to regear it to 4.56
*Currie cut to fit shafts
*4 piston wilwood brake setup

My goals: Id like to add coilovers at some point maybe? and I've read that having a wider axle would make it easier to package! I also have a Dana HP44 from a 78 ford I'd like to do one day,So I may need to get an even wider axle but then it'll look goofy with the current front axle being stock width (I'd kinda hate to run big spacers to match my rear if I did go extra wide in the back)

In reality: I may just send it and use what I got and do small wheel spacers to match the factory Tj width. because I may do a whole new housing when the time comes for the Hp44 swap upfront AND  regardless i still have to build my Hp30 so I'm gonna have to put my dreams aside and rock what I got

But I was also thinking of doing a speedway ford 9" housing that'll Essentially match the tj width (WMS) Plus it has internal gusseting if that really matters? But we're talking about an inch here really on WMS between the current housing setup I got Vs a stock Tj Dana 44. Part of me wants to ball out and go with Richmond axle housing (it looks like a currie F9 housing) But this endeavor alone is a stretch

For brackets I was thinking about barnes,I like the Jeeps West brackets and the handling gain from em is something to consider (for me&the difference it made in my jeep) But these brackets are cheap

Thoughts ? Ideas? Threats ?I dunno

This axle after me doing the Jeeps West brackets didn't last so long,It was nice...I enjoyed it

Edit- While I'm at it im gonna correct the upper spring perches too,I have a kit from genright I got for cheap

 

[D's Jeep Wrld]

I'm gonna have to assemble this current housing to see what the pinion offset is gonna be like
Plus I'm want to see what the actual WMS width will be with My wilwood kit,I'm saying this because it has some decently thick spacers that may possibly put me where I'd like to be WMS wise

 

[TheBoogieman]

@mrblaine could set you straight.

 

[mrblaine]

@mrblaine could set you straight.

My apologies, our build philosophies are too far apart to be of much help.

 

[macleanflood]

So what are your goals here besides epic burnouts and not grenading Dana 44s?

Is this a burnout machine or are you planning on wheeling the rig?

Budget?

Biggest issue I see with that speedway housing is the thickness of the axle tube.

I believe SpiderTrax axles are modified Ford 9s.

What about a Dana 60, Corporate 14 bolt or Sterling 10.5?

-Mac

 

[BlueC]

Biggest issue I see with that speedway housing is the thickness of the axle tube.

That's one of the first things I'd be wondering about. A street car housing, especially for something like a pony car, will probably be built with fairly thin material, and not built for the abrasive environment of dragging across rocks.

The second thing I'd be interested in is spline count. IIRC, most 9" setups run a 30/31 spline count axle, so basically the same as a 44. I think I've seen some 35 spline setups for 9", but they're oddball setups.

 

[Unique Username]

So what are your goals here besides epic burnouts and not grenading Dana 44s?

Is this a burnout machine or are you planning on wheeling the rig?

Budget?

Biggest issue I see with that speedway housing is the thickness of the axle tube.

I believe SpiderTrax axles are modified Ford 9s.

What about a Dana 60, Corporate 14 bolt or Sterling 10.5?

-Mac

I’m with you on the 14 bolt. It’s a very good design for heavy loads.

The ford 9” is a little thicker than a 44, but otherwise not a huge advantage to making the swap.

 

[D's Jeep Wrld]

My apologies, our build philosophies are too far apart to be of much help.

All good man !
I'm confident to say that you probably don't run in to many hoonigans that like crawling a jeep but still drives the thing like a damn sports car

 

[mrblaine]

All good man !
I'm confident to say that you probably don't run in to many hoonigans that like crawling a jeep but still drives the thing like a damn sports car

No one who has ever gone on a test drive with me after I show them that you can pretty much drift their rig around corners, ever asks me to do it again. That means you are correct, I don't run into many, but I do build for it, always.

 

[D's Jeep Wrld]

So what are your goals here besides epic burnouts and not grenading Dana 44s?

Is this a burnout machine or are you planning on wheeling the rig?

Budget?

Biggest issue I see with that speedway housing is the thickness of the axle tube.

I believe SpiderTrax axles are modified Ford 9s.

What about a Dana 60, Corporate 14 bolt or Sterling 10.5?

-Mac

My goal is to stay on 33s/35s. 33's for the dailying/street driving and the beadlocks I got for the crawling
It's still gonna be a crawler (a part time one)

Budget? maybe about 1k so I don't really mind spending the money for a beefier housing.
I'd really like to keep the ford 9" mainly because I already have most of the stuff apart from a beefier housing than what I got

But with the tubes having a larger 3" diameter at 3/16ths thick wouldn't it be just as strong or stronger than my stock Dana 44 housing? The tubes on that thing are small compared to the ford 9" I got

I'd like a 60 or a 14 bolt but not only are they heavy,They'd be a boat anchor for me at a max size of 35s,Especially the 14 bolt (shaving it would help) But that's a completely different world I'd be stepping in too
At some point I may end up with a Gearworks 10" 3rd member. If I manage to break a ford 9" a few more times It may be time for that,Hopefully later than sooner cause that setup alone is 4k....I'm not quite ready for that

That's one of the first things I'd be wondering about. A street car housing, especially for something like a pony car, will probably be built with fairly thin material, and not built for the abrasive environment of dragging across rocks.

The second thing I'd be interested in is spline count. IIRC, most 9" setups run a 30/31 spline count axle, so basically the same as a 44. I think I've seen some 35 spline setups for 9", but they're oddball setups.

With my current mustang housing coming in with larger 3" tubes granted it has 3/16" thick tubes while the Dana 44 comes with 1/4" tubes IIRC.
Wouldn't it be just as strong if not stronger simply due to the larger diameter of the tube even if it's a 3/16ths walled tube ?
Spline count for my setup is 31 spline

 

[NashvilleTJ]

...

I'd like a 60 or a 14 bolt but not only are they heavy,They'd be a boat anchor for me at a max size of 35s,Especially the 14 bolt (shaving it would help) But that's a completely different world I'd be stepping in too
...

Oh yeah. There's a reason we say Tonz AND Fodeez...

 

[Abendage]

Is your 78 HP44 out of a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton? If 1/2 ton might as well sell it now, the radius arm wedges are a cast section of the tube, not welded and is virtually impossible to do anything with other than put it in a radius arm Ford.

 

[macleanflood]

I know Barnes makes an inner sleeve for the Dana 30 to "increase" tube thickness.

Wonder if you can find something similar.

Sounds like you're set on a 9 inch.

-Mac

 

[BlueC]

With my current mustang housing coming in with larger 3" tubes granted it has 3/16" thick tubes while the Dana 44 comes with 1/4" tubes IIRC.
Wouldn't it be just as strong if not stronger simply due to the larger diameter of the tube even if it's a 3/16ths walled tube ?
Spline count for my setup is 31 spline

Personally, and it sounds to be the general consensus of the group, I wouldn't waste my time, effort or money swapping a 44 for a 9" or it's 8.8 replacement (all 1/2 ton class axles), especially one with thinner tubes. Either figure out your 44 or get a bigger axle. With a $1K budget range, I think your stuck with figuring out your current axle.

 

[mrblaine]

Personally, and it sounds to be the general consensus of the group, I wouldn't waste my time, effort or money swapping a 44 for a 9" or it's 8.8 replacement (all 1/2 ton class axles), especially one with thinner tubes. Either figure out your 44 or get a bigger axle. With a $1K budget range, I think your stuck with figuring out your current axle.

As long as I'm not in that consensus, it's all good. I prefer not to guess. The larger diameter thinner wall tube is actually more resistant to bending forces by over a 1000 lbs. all other things being equal load wise.

 

[BlueC]

The larger diameter thinner wall tube is actually more resistant to bending forces by over a 1000 lbs. all other things being equal load wise.

I'm thinking more material abrasion than load, but I guess that is assuming he will be hitting and dragging across rocks.

 

[mrblaine]

Personally, and it sounds to be the general consensus of the group, I wouldn't waste my time, effort or money swapping a 44 for a 9" or it's 8.8 replacement (all 1/2 ton class axles), especially one with thinner tubes. Either figure out your 44 or get a bigger axle. With a $1K budget range, I think your stuck with figuring out your current axle.

I wheeled a Ford 9" housing in JV on 37's for a long time. I wore out a bunch of stuff, the 31 spline axles were never an issue. the 3" thin wall tubes (according to the consensus) were never a problem. The 8.8 brakes were never a problem that wasn't self inflicted by driving off with the parking brake applied. The Set 20 bearings were not a problem and are considerably larger than the Dana 44 Set 10.

 

[D's Jeep Wrld]

Is your 78 HP44 out of a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton? If 1/2 ton might as well sell it now, the radius arm wedges are a cast section of the tube, not welded and is virtually impossible to do anything with other than put it in a radius arm Ford.

It's an 8 Lug unit from a 3/4 ton truck,Pulled it out from a 4 door crewcab longbed truck,But no that was the 1st thing I looked out for! It just has a welded on leaf spring perches! No cast wedges Gonna convert it over to 5x5.5

But scratch all that, I'm first gonna rock the HP30 I have once im done building it after I sort out my rear axle! It's gonna get a savvy 3 link axle truss

Oh yeah. There's a reason we say Tonz AND Fodeez...

No not yet mister....Gimme like 5 years alright Let me break what I have and go from there lol

 

[mrblaine]

It's gonna get a savvy 3 link axle truss

The amount of work it takes to modify it, you are better off starting from scratch. Or find one of the old RE conversion trusses for 3" tubes.

 

[D's Jeep Wrld]

I'm thinking more material abrasion than load, but I guess that is assuming he will be hitting and dragging across rocks.

If anything,Mainly the bottom of the housing would be my concern but i can weld some plate to the bottom of the 9"
The 1st thing Id always hit was my center housing sure I have some scrapes on my tubes but it's mainly just paint. The pumpkin/center housing? Yeah that sucker has some gouges/scratches