HELP STRAIGHT AXLE CONVERSION

[southtexasmudclub]

ok im buying the 10" straight axle conversion from broncograveyard.com. i got my dana 44. what else do i need to get along with that to make it work?

 

[Broncobill78]

What size tire are you looking to ultimately run ? I know you already have a D44 but if you're planning to run anything larger than a 35"/36" then you should really have a D60. What are your plans for the truck, it makes a difference.

 

[89eddie89]

BroncoBill,

Can you tell me what the stock axles and gears are for most 1989 eddie bauer broncos??

I know i can get the id tag and find out..

But Im just too lazy.. haha

Thanks man

 

[Broncobill78]

Yup, if it's an 89' you'll have an 8.8" rear end and a Dana44IFS front end (all full size Broncos have Dana 44 front ends but starting in 80' they used the Dana 44 Independant Front Suspension(IFS) otherwise known as the Twin Traction Bean (TTB) axle. Better than 85% of the Broncos out there have 3.55 gears. You MIGHT have 3.08's or 4.11's but those are pretty scarce. Take a look at the door sticker and see what the axle code is. If it says H9 then you've got 3.55's and a limited slip differential, if it says 19 then you've got 3.55's and an open differential. If it's a 3.08 you'll have an 18 as an axle code (3.08's only came w/open differentials to the best of my knowledge) and a 3.73 limited slip will be a B6

Most of what I just told you will probably be irrelevant, chances are it's an open diff 3.55 because that's what the majority of them were. If you have a trailer package (usually defined by that big honkin' hitch under the fuel tank) then you may have a limited slip H9 axle but chances are good it's a 19.

Just for trivia purposes here's the deal on decoding the axles. The axle codes consist of TWO digits. If the first digit is a *number* then you have an open differential and if it's a *letter* than you have a limited slip differential. Sound easy enough ? Here's the rest of it. The second digit gives you the actual gear ratio, "7" is 3.31, "8" is 3.08, "9" is 3.55 and "5" is 4.10. Thus, if you have an axle code of 19 what you have is an open differential 3.55 rearend but if the code is H9 you have a limited slip 3.55. Have I confused you yet /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I hope that makes some sense to you, like I said initially, the short answer to your question is that you most definately have a D44IFS front axle, an 8.8" rear axle and chances are excellent that you have 3.55 gears. Whether or not you have an open or limited-slip differential are up in the air but you didn't ask about that, just stock axles & gears /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[89eddie89]

Thanks man

That will help me out a lot when i try to figure it out. haha

Ill reply once i find out what i got

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[89eddie89]

Ok.

So I went out to check my door sticker and find out what my gears and axles are...

But turns out i dont even have one. Whats up with that??

What other codes can i locate to find out my gears and axles??

 

[Broncobill78]

Well, there are a few possible explanations & a couple of options. Now just to be sure, you looked on the drivers side door frame just above the striker bolt right ? If it's not there then it's possible a previous owner removed it. It's also possible that the truck was repainted and the body shop removed it, might have been a collision repair or a restoration, hard to know. Regardless of *why* the fact is that it isn't there. Now you can try getting under it to see if there's still a tag attached to the rear end. When the axles are assembled they put a small metal tag stamped with the axle code onto one of the studs for the gear carrier (or cover depending on what the axle has). It isn't always there on the older trucks (just because of time, wear & tear or service along the way) but there's a chance you can still find it if you go & look. If all else fails then write down your VIN and call the Ford Customer Relationship Center at 1-800-392-3673 (phone # is courtesy of Miesk5). Give them your vin & they may be able to tell you right then & there what your axle ratio was and give them a few weeks and they'll send you a letter with most of the original window sticker info *including* the gear ratio and any packages the truck was built with (such aa a tow package) and other info such as the build date & a decoding of your VIN. Wish I could offer you something better than that but that's all I've got.

 

[89eddie89]

Thanks

But yeah I looked on the drivers side.. and I also looked at the axles to find a tag but I didnt find one.

Tomorrow morning I will look again and see if I just looked over it or something.

 

[Broncobill78]

If it's not there it's not there and you're pretty much left with two options. You can call the 800 number that Miesk5 got for us and ask them, maybe they can tell you right over the phone but otherwise you'll have to wait 6-8wks for the hardcopy to arrive in the mail. The other option is the direct method. Go out there, jack it up & see for yourself. Mark the driveshaft with a piece of tape & mark the sidewall of one of the tires the same way, so that you can watch the rotation of both and count the turns. With everything marked, start the tire off in the 12 O'clock position and slowly spin it while watching the driveshaft. The driveshaft will spin several times for each single revolution the tire makes, so watch closely and count. If the driveshaft makes 3 full revolutions and half of a fourth then you have 3.55 gears. If it makes 3 full revolutions and just a hair of a 4th then you have 3.08's. If it's 3 full and 3/4's of a fourth then you've got 3.73's and if it makes FOUR full revolutions and just a little bit more you have 4.11's.

If you jack it so that *both* wheels are off the ground you can also determine if you have an open differential or a limited slip. If the opposite tire (the one you *aren't* spinning by hand) rotates in the same direction as the one you're spinning (they both spin in the same direction) then it's a limited slip. If they spin in opposite directions then you have an open differential.

 

[89eddie89]

Well I will most likely end up calling the 800 #. But before I go to baseball in the morning Ima check the axles and see if there is anything there. And once I figure out what they are Ill let you know, haha that is if you care...

Thanks Again,

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[89eddie89]

Ok I found the axle tag, and the code # is S807D L55 8 8 9D12.

So by this # what are my gears and axles??

 

[Justshootme84]

STxMC, sorry your thread got off-topic. You can find the info you need in the tech articles forum, go to my link to "Miesk5's Homepage' and look up the SAS links. JSM84

 

[Broncobill78]

JSM: Damn, you're right. My bad.

Eddie89: Take the info you have & start a new thread, that way others will be able to find the info because it isn't burried in a 'jacked thread and it will be correctly indexed.