49 diff gears

M

my4dv8

Well-known member
Can any barners advise if new or nos 49 ford car diff gears are available . 3.78 ratio or similar as we have overdrive. Thanks .
 
Last edited:
Those old axles are the father of the Ford 9-inch and grandaddy to the later axles but they weren't used much after 1956. If you have a station wagon then it would have a Dana 41 rear axle and they are even harder to find parts for. On the standard Ford rear axle with the removeable carrier assembly or hogs head, the part books list the 3.89:1 as standard, 4.11:1 for overdrive, and 3.33:1 for Ford-O-Matic drive. There should be some good used stuff out there but I don't know about new stuff. Shoe Box Ford generally are the best help for parts here in the USA if they are still up and running. I heard somewhere that there was a change of ownership or something like that going on with them.
 
Last edited:
Shoebox Ford stock gear ratios are as follow:

3:73 standard (non/OD)
3:92 standard station wagon (non/OD)
4:11 standard (with O/D)
4:27 station wagon (with O/D)
3:31 Fordomatic
3:54 Fordomatic (optional but less common)

To my knowlege there are no NOS gears available with the exception of I seem to recall one of the station wagon ratios being available a few years ago from a source I cannot remember. Assuming your 49 is a standard passenger car and not a station wagon it should have originally been equipped with a 4.11 rear. However, if it originally came out of the factory as a non/OD and someone during its lifetime has swapped in an O/D trans it could very well have the original 3.73 rear...hope all this makes since.

Dennis
 
Last edited:
rotorwrench said:
Those old axles are the father of the Ford 9-inch and grandaddy to the later axles but they weren't used much after 1956. If you have a station wagon then it would have a Dana 41 rear axle and they are even harder to find parts for. On the standard Ford rear axle with the removeable carrier assembly or hogs head, the part books list the 3.89:1 as standard, 4.11:1 for overdrive, and 3.33:1 for Ford-O-Matic drive. There should be some good used stuff out there but I don't know about new stuff. Shoe Box Ford generally are the best help for parts here in the USA if they are still up and running. I heard somewhere that there was a change of ownership or something like that going on with them.
Click to expand...

Shoebox Ford as we once knew it no longer exists. Supposedly the owner is still selling parts piece by piece out of his garage but this is just rumor and hasnt been confirmed as far as I know. The only thing that is for sure is the former place of business is no longer.

Another great source is Shoebox-Central which is owned by Chris Whitington (former employee of Shoebox Ford)

http://shoebox-central.com/

Hope this helps

Dennis
 
Yes we have the 3.73 ratio gears , but on disassembly it seems they got very low on oil a long time ago. They are useable but not the best. The pinion appears to have rubbed on the crown wheel. Not yet fully disassembled though for a thorough examination.
 
Shoebox Central does not appear to have anything listed. Are later diff gears the same, 54 ish vintage. The search continues.
 
You need to call and talk to Chris... they don't have all inventory listed on the website. The center section can be used up through 55 or 56 ish but you must swap over the axles as well... the carrier is a different spline. I'd be willing to bet shoebox-central.com has a good used center section if you call and ask.

Hope this helps

Dennis
 
Does anybody have the part numbers of these gear sets? I have a few nos sets with I believe A9 part prefixes, never looked up what they were for.
 
The base P/N 4208 or 4209 were both used in the older catalogs depending on whether they were Ford models or Dana Spicer models that were used in the station magons & Mercs

The standard original 3.73:1 set was 8A-44208-C in kit form (the extra digit is not a miss print, it came from a 1953 catalog and designated a "gear kit"). The 4.10:1 was 8A-44208-D. They changed the prefix in 51 and started using the APA-44208-A for the 3.31:1, APA-44208-B for the 3.54:1, and the 3.90:1 for 52 & 53 was CPA-44208-A. These part numbers may be out there NOS but I imagine they are scarce.

The later 1949 to 1959 parts catalogs list the replacement parts that were available in 1959 which reflect later prefixes and numbers These parts might be easier to find NOS but I don't know that for certain. They were just the last replacement parts available in 1959. The B5A-4209-A gear kit was 3.30:1, the B5A 4209-B kit was 3.89:1, and the B5A-4209-C kit was 4.11:1 so you can see the difference in parts and numbers of the later parts that were available after the 1954 model year.
 
Last edited:
I got to look through my stuff and found an APA-44208-B NOS in the Ford box with tooth count to 3.54 ratio as rotor wrench describes.

Also have an A9A-4209-E NOS in the Ford box with tooth count to 4:10 or 4:11 I forget which. Appears to be the same design gear set as the other.

Also have a few other sets that are either new or take outs from long ago. Surface rust but would clean up. One was 4:11 and one was 4:27
 
[QUO ratioTE=Flatkid8;890358]Shoebox Ford stock gear ratios are as follow:
i have 2 sets for sale on ebay 3.73
3:73 standard (non/OD)
3:92 standard station wagon (non/OD)
4:11 standard (with O/D)
4:27 station wagon (with O/D)
3:31 Fordomatic
3:54 Fordomatic (optional but less common)

To my knowlege there are no NOS gears available with the exception of I seem to recall one of the station wagon ratios being available a few years ago from a source I cannot remember. Assuming your 49 is a standard passenger car and not a station wagon it should have originally been equipped with a 4.11 rear. However, if it originally came out of the factory as a non/OD and someone during its lifetime has swapped in an O/D trans it could very well have the original 3.73 rear...hope all this makes since.

Dennis[/QUOTE]
 
This is kind of an old post. Most Ford "cars" used the early third member type rear axle with the exception of station wagons that used the Dana Spicer 41 or 44 rear axles. Police cars, that were equipped as such from the factory, also had the Dana Spicer 41 or 44 depending on year of manufacture. These would have been the similar to what was used in the Mercury cars of the same era. Parts for the old 3rd member Ford era axles are harder to find but someone is always taking one out of a shoe box somewhere.

Welcome on the Barn.
Kerby
 
The pre 96 Jeep grand Cherokee has a 3.73 posi Dana/Spicer 44 rear with drum brakes. post 96 have disk. They go for 150/250bucks 5 n4 1/2 bolt pattern. The 99 have 5 on 5. Most have alum center sections. This is a great unit for our old Fords. Biggest problem is adding spring pads.
 
Ol' Ron said:
The pre 96 Jeep grand Cherokee has a 3.73 posi Dana/Spicer 44 rear with drum brakes. post 96 have disk. They go for 150/250bucks 5 n4 1/2 bolt pattern. The 99 have 5 on 5. Most have alum center sections. This is a great unit for our old Fords. Biggest problem is adding spring pads.
Click to expand...

I've been cruising around on 3:89 gears at 50 MPH, last night I scored a B5A-4209-A set of 3:30 gears. I thought I would never see a set available. Still may have in install my T5 transmission.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top