its probably been asked before here but i'll shoot it out there for an update. whats a 9 bolt good for hp/torque wise? someplaces i've read say there accually stronger than the 10 bolt if you get the support cover for the diff carrier caps

 

 

10 Bolt is weaker in stock form than the 9 bolt.

9 bolt has NO aftermarket. At all. Zero. So if something brakes or wears to the point of replacement, good freaking luck. The axle bearings and seals cost about 10x the price of the 10 bolt axle bearings and seals. And all you can find are stock or stock replacement parts. No performance parts.

The 10 bolt has a huge aftermarket. Posi's, axles, new gears, different pinions (the 10 bolt from a Lumina van has a 1350 pinion, so you can run beefier U-Joints), girdle covers, axle girdles. You name it, and it's out there for the 10 bolt, and pretty readily available.

Unless you have the 9 bolt, and are just using it until it grenades, get a 10 bolt instead. 89+ have 28 spline axles instead of 26, and IIRC a better posi. 90+ disc rears have aluminum PBR calipers instead of the crap Delco Moraine ones.

 

thats what in the car now. motor is going in the car in the next month or so and im sure im its going to blow up nicely. right around 600 hp on motor with a custom nos system coming from SPEEDTECH

 

You can get a girdle cover for the 9 bolt but thats about it.

 

to clear things up a little YOU CAN get performance parts for 9 bolts, if interested PM me and I will give you some vendors on what you want from new performance posi carriers, 3.45, 3.73 and 4.10 gear sets,28 and 31 splined axles, 28 and 31 splined posi cones for the updated carriers only but as stated above none of it is near as cheap as 10 bolt parts and it all has to come from Australia(shipping is pretty high). The nine bolt far exceeds the strength of even the modified ten bolt and rivals the dana 44(who actually bought borg warner austrailia and still producing the 9 bolt today). Bearings and seals for the 9 bolt axles are NOT more expensive than 10 bolts and are easily had at the major US parts stores, I prefer Timken you can get them at Autozone (SET 9), you can even get set up kits from RATECH in various forms about the same $ as 10 bolts. Granted 9 bolt parts are not kicking you in the face on every catalog you open like 10 bolt parts, they can be had if you do a little research.

 

Anyone used the girdle? I have a 5.7 -5 speed HSR setup pushing a modest 300+ HP. It's a daily driver but I am a little worried about the rear during launches.

 

Your T5 wil break before the 9-bolt rear end does.

Yes we've used the girdle, its a nice piece. Get the optional stud kit, too.

 

Where do you get this stud kit?

 

You can get both the stud kit and girdle from TA Performance ( http://www.taperformance.com/ ) I personally have both installed in my 9 bolt and can vouch for their quality being EXCELLENT!

As for strength, the 9 bolt has a LOT going for it over the 10 bolt, not the least of which is bolt in axles! I have no fear of breaking mine at my HP level (300 RWHP/300RWTQ) even launching at the track at 4k rpms with drag radials. The 9 bolts also tend to be a quieter and tighter rear end than the 10 bolts.

As for parts, yes, some of them are harder to come by, and a bit more expensive, but better stuff usually costs more I rebuilt my posi with new cones and clutches from Miles at 9bolt.com before he stopped selling parts for them. Like TransAM Joe said though, parts ARE available, with a minimal amount of research.

If it's what you've already got in the car I wouldn't lose any sleep over keeping it in there. My plan is that if I ever get to the HP level that grenades the 9 bolt it'll be time for a 12 bolt or a Ford 9 inch! Of course it helps that I got my 3.27 posi 9 bolt for $25 LOL



-Paul

 

If you're not talking out your tail end, and you're seriously going to running that much HP, forget about the 9 bolt or the 10 bolt. You're going to need one of the aftermarket 12 bolts or Ford 9" rears to stand up to those power levels. Moser and Strange Engineering both offer custom ones that bolt right in to a thirdgen f-body.

 

Agreed Pat, however, Miles of diffsolutions/9bolt.com was running (IIRC) a 500 HP big block and cutting rather impressive 60' times (1.5-1.7 I think) with his 9 bolt with no breakage after at least a couple years. That's without a rear end girdle, because nobody made one for the 9 bolt until the past year or two when TA released theirs. Just food for thought!

-Paul

 

i just got a 9 bolt out of the junk yard in good shape rebuit the hole thing only worry is it has 327 gears.i have 373s in my car now how bad will this hurt my accelleration?

 

Personally I don't think it will hurt you all that bad. I went from 3.73's to 3.27's in my car with a T-56, and I like the 3.27's better. Although I have a '93 T-56 which has steeper gears. If you want to get a rough idea of how it will affect your rpms, go here, put in your car's info, and see what it looks like to you when you change the gears: http://www.f-body.org/gears/ I've used that calculator quite a few times and it's very handy!

-Paul

 

3.27 gears is crap in a 94+ t-56 your lucky in that you have the 93 verson.

On the original topic my 9 bolt didn't last very long and was a big waste of money, think i went through 3 axes and 2 sets of gears before I went with a ford 9".

 

Just so everybody knows, It was mentioned above briefly, 9 BOLT CLEARANCES ARE MUCH TIGHTER THAN 10 BOLT AND MANY OTHERS. If you set your 9 bolt up to 10 bolt clearances it WILL FAIL QUICKLY. Your also better off shimming the cones tight with no play. Miles is a great example, if set up properly they can handle a lot of torque and horsepower to there avg. 7.75 ring gear size. Here are some clearances from a few different sources, use them at your own risk.



RING GEAR BOLT: 65 FT LBS

RING GEAR BACKLASH .006-.010 INCHES

CARRIER BEARING CAP BOLTS 45 FT LBS

CARRIER HALF BOLTS 30 FT LBS

REAR COVER BOLTS 24 FT LBS

PINION BEARING PRELOAD (NEW) 12-15 IN LBS

PINION BEARING PRELOAD (USED) 6-7 IN LBS

 

I also installed the TA diff cover (#1802) on my 9-bolt, it's a very nice piece. I got the optional stud kit at the same time that I ordered the cover. I have the stock 3.27 gears, but with the steep first-gear of my 700R4, acceleration isn't an issue. might be different for a stick-shift.

When I installed the TA diff cover, I had to spot face the bearing caps, as described in the instructions. the xerox picture in the instructions wasn't very clear. From the factory, the diff bearing caps have a non-trivial casting protrusion which has to be removed to provide a flat area for the load bolts to set.

My plan is to stick with the 9-bolt until it fails, then replace with a 12-bolt. sofar so good.

I was suprised at how sturdy the axles are for the 9-bolt.

 

[quote=Tony89GTA;3520402]3.27 gears is crap in a 94+ t-56 your lucky in that you have the 93 verson.


Agreed, try 2.77 and a 94+ t56, I never even touched 6th.

 

What's tighter? Those specs are virtually identical to a ten bolt, especially the backlash and pinion bearing preload. I couldn't tell you on the shimming of the posi cones since that's not considered a standard repair. Hey RPOL98, 3.27 gears are just fine with the stock T5 manual trans since 1st gear is 2.95:1, and the 700r4 is 3.06:1. The problem arises when you're running a 94-up T56 because 1st gear is only 2.66:1. The 93 T56's 1st gear is almost the same ratio as the T5. Hey mcgarnicle, wow, you might as well remove 6th gear and use it for a paperweight with a 2.77 rear gear! Even guys with 4th gens that are equipped with the 3.42 rear say they rarely use 6th.

 

Your're not lying. I had to be doing about 95 to use 6th. I'm much happier with the 4.11's in it now.

 

If you can't use 6th gear, just build your engine for more low end torque LOL! I'm just kidding guys, although my dad and I use 6th all the time in his stock '00 T/A with a T-56 and 3.42's...even at 30-40 mph, she'll still climb hills!

Not that that had anything to do with 9 bolts LOL