Ford 9in axles going under my minivan

[alexrex20]

got things rolling. starting on the rear and already acquiring parts.

final setup will be ford 9in front/rear. i'm doing the rear first with 4.86s, and they will be complemented with xterra front 4.9s until i have the front 9in assembled and ready to go in.

i'm thinking i want to rip out EVERYTHING and do leaf springs front and rear. just plate the faux frame rails and it should be good to go... or would it?

[NissanNut]

You will need to cut off all the brackets and reweld on. The brakes would require adapters. The parking brake would require some custom parts. Since the 9" was last made in 1988. I would assume you would get drum brakes. You will need the driveshaft modified. Also the 9" has a lower pinion input. So you may need to modify the crossmember for driveshaft clearance.

Not sure what the advantage would be besides cheaper gear sets. If you only want 4.56 gears, it would not be worth the work involved IMO. The h233 4.6 are easy to find. I think I have a spare 4.6 pumpkin.

[Cuong Nguyen]

You'd lose abs as well and it's a lot more work for no real gain.

[alexrex20]

well, i already have no ABS. when a wheel bearing went out in Colorado, the shop had to cut off the reluctor ring to get the old bearing off. they got it to driveable again, but i've never opened it back up to fix it. i have 2 spare 4.6 thirds in my garage anyway.

i know there's really no advantage. i'm just bored and want to do something NEW to the pathfinder. i guess the other advantages would be front/rear compatibility if i ever SAS with a ford axle, and also the cheaper gear sets (5.xx+ if/when i SAS) and the wider variety of locker options.

ultimately, as this minivan turns more and more into a trail-only vehicle, i'd like to run a ford 9in front/rear with maybe some True Hi9 3rds. if i had a ford 9in under the back, my SAS would include a custom 9in housing up front to place the center section appropriately.

true hi9s are nice, but at $2k each (assembled with gears and locker) they're not cheap. i just need to figure out what i really want to do with this minivan and if it would be more cost efficient to dump more and more money into it, or just get a leaf sprung CJ/YJ.

[mudman]

I have a friend selling this:

BB Ford 9” - $500
with one center section that has 4.56:1 gear set and a Detroit locker, and a spare, open third member, and stock shafts. It has been cleaned of all the brackets, and I can’t remember if I have the brakes or not.

[alexrex20]

VERY INTERESTING...


i'm assuming the 4.56s would be close enough to my front 4.636 so that i could run it for awhile before i ultimately SAS?

the other one i'm looking at for $250 has new 4.88s, no detroit, but it is complete with drums and new shoes/springs...

[alexrex20]

well, i want to do this.

i found a nice 31-spline H case detroit (3.25 bearings) and also a used carrier. the 3.25 carrier bearings were only used in the Ford Racing 9s or in aftermarket. now i just need to find a cheap housing and a set of 31-spline axles, and that'll cover the major expenses.

maybe we can convert my rear axle after we SAS mike's xterra.

[alexrex20]

i also ordered 4.86s so it will be compatible with the front 4.9s i'm looking for. ultimately, i'll have ford axles front/rear. screw 44s. :D

[Jason]

this is deffinitly the cheapest and easiest way
http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/1553976428.html

[alexrex20]

that guy lives in my neighborhood and is a complete douche bag. the truck does not run, does not stop, and is 10x worse than those pics.