The Ford 9 inch rear axle is known as one of the most popular axles in automotive history. Ford ended its production in 1986 when it was replaced by the Ford 8.8 inch axle. However, aftermarket companies still produce this axle. The Ford 9 inch is a semi-floating, drop-out axle. It had a GAWR up to 3600 lbs.
Contents
One of the features which distinguishes this axle from other high-performance or heavy-duty domestic solid axles is that unlike other axle designs, access to the differential gears is not through the rear center cover; rather, in the Ford 9 inch, the rear cover is welded to the axle housing, and access to internals is obtained by removing the center cover on the pinion (front) side of the axle through which the driveshaft yoke connects, with the differential assembly coming out of the axle as a unit attached to the cover.,, Although this requires disconnecting the driveshaft to access the internal gearset, it offers the advantage of being able to disassemble and reassemble the differential gears and adjust clearances conveniently on the benchtop, rather than with the restricted access of working within the axle housing under the car.