It started getting noisey last season at the end, but did not want to pull the cover cause I knew. This year it's been progressivly getting worse and finally bit the bullet and did the unthinkable-pulled the cover!!! Pinion is still in great shape with a nice wear pattern, but the ring gear had a total of 11 teeth missing 8 showing in this pic. and 1 behind the sway bar, then in the second photo 2 teeth chunked out. On the cover you can see the 1 piece of tooth and the rest was ground up into nice little shavings that stuck to the magnet. Guess 1.8 60's last year and 1.7's this year were a little much for this noted weak rear end, but overall still pretty surprised it lasted this long. Got a "crutch" coming from the bone yard Fri. so I'll get to spend a late one in the shop exchanging to make the big race this Sat. I know it's not a permanate fix, but my Ford 9" is around $2000 and I'm still trying to sell the old house, so money is tight for now-2 morgages and $200/weekend to race and you get the picture. Anyways, just thought I'd post up the pics for all to see so you'll know what kind of carnage to expect. She was a good one, but every dog has it's day I guess. Just hopein the new rear with the 3.73 will get me into consistent high 12's as the 3.42 I have now is consistent 13.0's.

 

other side of ring gear

 

forgot to post pic

 

And finally the cover with the only chunk of tooth left and the rest ground to a pulp stuck to the magnet

 

Next time use lose the stock cover and use a better one with some strength and some bracing for the caps, it helps significantly.

 

Honestly this car has been our rolling experiment since day one, kinda putting different things to the test for combinations, durability, and proving people wrong. Most people thought this rear would only last a few races. I could care less since they are a dime a dozen, but this one has been beat brutally for a full season and a half with LOTS of rounds on 'er, so all in all I think these 7.5's are a little under rated for mild hp applications, if I would've had street tires it might have lasted longer since I'd be spinning instead of planting. She finally let go, I can't order my 9" Ford till the other house is sold, so I'm just gonna hang in the balance and get another 7.5 since it'll bolt up for only $100, with a little better gearing than I have now. If I was gonna keep the same mill under the hood, I might go the extra mile and beef up this rear, but with bigger cubes in the future I don't wanna spend anymore than I half to on a rear that is not gonna be bullet proof and transbrake adaptable.

 

Yeah, you're definitely not going to make one of these "bulletproof", but you can harden them quite a bit.

Welding the axle tubes in, a girdle-type cover with the bearing cap braces, and a pinion spacer instead of a crush sleeve, will make a big difference. Then, think about how the 9" will take a good 10 HP more or a 12-bolt about 7 more to turn than one of these weenie things; then they start looking not quite so bad.

 

I was seriously entertaining the 12 bolt idea at first since they require less poines to power, but if I change anything in the future I know a ton of guys with Ford center sections set-up already so when I do a major change I can try different ratio's to find a sweet spot, the 12 bolt does'nt give that conveinence as we all know. Not only that, my buddy set's up 3rd members so I can get it done for free as opposed to taking the car in. My goal for next year is trying an ATI procharger-buddy is gonna give his new one a first pass this weekend and I like alot of things about it, just want to see his gain/cost ratio first as it might be easier to go my original big block route. Transbrake is definately on the to-do list after piloting the truck I get to drive as well-what a feeling So what ever route I ultimately go with it has to be as bullet proof as one could try to expect, and yeah, these 7.5's are nowhere capable of what I'd like to throw at it. For a daily driver or once in awhile strip car I'd definately do the cover and axle tubes, but my personal application far exceeds those minor hop-up's as well as my nerves!!!