need new rear axle 3.54 mabey a axlefrom a ford??

[TFaucette]

just abliterated my rear axle trying to pull a sled, found out some body swaped a non-full floating 3. 90 in place and still has a 3. 54 in the front. well looking on car-parts.com at junk yards the options for a 81-93 ram are 3. 07, 3. 55, 3. 90, 4. 10, and 4. 56 but the tag says 3. 54, so is it a 3. 54 or 3. 55 or does it even matter being that close which is why i am wondering because i can get a hold of a 3. 55 full float from a e350 econoline van for free. i figure the hardest part may be just cutting and moving the perches for the springs.

 

[ENafziger]

The 3. 55 and 3. 54 are essentially the same. I'd take the free rear end and run it. I kept the perches in the same location and spaced the spring hangers out 3/4" on each side to accomodate the Ford Dana 70 rear end under my '87 Dodge W150.

--Eric

 

[Simplysmn]

Go corp 14 bolt from a chevy just about bolt in

 

[TFaucette]

i would like to but i don't think there was a 3. 55 i think it went from 3. 42 then to 3. 73 not to mention a corp 14 is the strongest available other than a freak'n rockwell!!!!

 

[NIsaacs]

Unless the E350 Ford van is real old, it will have the 10. 250" Ford /Stirling axle and under normal use, it is a good strong axle. However, if sled pulling is in it's future, it might be better to find a Dana 80. I am also in favor of any thing for free, so it might be a good fix.



Nick

 

[TFaucette]

its a 87 model

 

[NIsaacs]

It is a Ford/Stirling axle then. Ford stopped using the Dana in 1980 for most applications.



Nick

 

[HHhuntitall]

If it's a E350, it could have either a Ford/Sterling 10. 25 or a Dana 60, 61, or 70, depending on how it was ordered... . very, very few may have a Dana 80, if ordered with it from the factory. If you could find an ambulance or dually, they'd be more likely to have the 80... . albiet they'd probably not be free... .



The vans were pretty screwy about what was were, as it seemed Ford was actually trying to keep the customers happy back then, and building what they asked for..... I have a 77 Van by the title, but it actually has a regular pickup cab on it... . it is also 172" wheelbase... . It was built for an x-ray company new by Ford, and they titled it a van, but used the pickup cab... . Can you say Custom?



Anyway, as for making the axle fit under the truck, no problem, IMO.

 

[TFaucette]

what about width? is the ford axle either a dually or single wheel close to the same width as my w250 rear axle?

 

[Simplysmn]

I still say the chevy can be bolted in I believe they have the same ratio's also .

 

[TFaucette]

na, the chevy goes either a 3. 42 or 3. 73 but if i could find a matching set of chevy axles that would be awesome, i also found a dana 80 out of a 2500 2nd gen but he wants 300$ and thats a lil steep for a open diff i think

 

[RWherley]

Check with Motive gear they should have a new ring and pinon gear for the chevy rear in 3. 54 if your up for doing the change your self.

 

[JMDancoe]

If you shop bone yards, you can find one, but not cheap. I just bought one out of Sulphuir Springs, Tx. for $785. 00 (included shipping to Mississippi). Mine had 258,000 miles and had gone extremely noisey. When we pulled it apart, the carrier berings were showing extreme wear, but the inner pinion bearing and race were the cuprit. Just about to shell out. The one I bought was a 3. 54 Limitted Slip and even had the 12x3" brakes on it and they were almost new. It works great. We also had to pull my brother's due to excessive metal in the oil. We rebuilt mine and put it in his truck. We haven't taken his apart yet to see what is causing the high metal problem, but it is not limmitted slip and we may want to part with it. It is complete drum to drum (less brake lines) and is a 3. 54 open. It would need a complete rebuild, I suspect, including wheel bearings due to mileage (278,000) and the metal has probably gotten out to the hubs.

 

[DVolk]

Unless you want to really screw around the ford wont work in the spring perch areas and the yoke i got one for my 92 and decided not to use it for the those reasons .



up grade to 140 gear oil and you wont loose the bearings !!!!!

 

[pwerwagn]

300$ for a Dana 80 aint bad. I just sold one with no drums for 450$, and it sold like a hotcake.



The van rear's are sometimes wider (something like 72" wms).



GM 14 bolts are not direct bolt ins. They dont come with 3. 5/3. 54 (same thing), the spring perches are too narrow, and the yoke is a 1350. An 80 is just as strong anyways (but not as cheap usually). Also a 14 bolt pinion is shorter, so your driveshaft length might be an issue.



I had a dana 80 from a 97 single wheel in my 93 when I got it. It was about the same width as the front 60, so it looked a bit weird (the rears are usually a touch narrower). I now have a 14 bolt in its place. The 80 has a longer pinion by about 3" IIRC, a less ground clearance (and the 14 bolt can be shaved for even more).



If I were you id level the pinion, and take an angle readin on the spring perch on your stock axle. grind the ford perches off. . and match the width/angle and run with it. No biggie. Or move the springs outboard like Eric suggested...

 

[TFaucette]

i ended up sticking a dana 80 from a srw second gen, just had to make u bolts and spring plates for u bolts to go through an stilll need to cut and move shock mounts. but the second gen axle is quite a bit wider which is OK becausei had 2" spacers on it already(for my thirdgen wheels) so with the 2" spacers on front and none on th second gen axle it ended up being perfect! and spring perches were alreadyin the right place. totally not related but an interesting story i just did rip the hitch straight off the frame on that truck today (might havee been slightly overloaded, lol)