50 Car Differential Question

L

leon bee

Well-known member
I've been through most everything else on this car/ Now I've put on too good of a muffler, so I have to listen to the rear end. It's not a howl yet, but is a pretty good whine.........gonna have to do something. Right now I think I only got one question: is there a common name for this piece? I mean, later on you got your Ford 8", Ford 9". etc., etc. When I go out looking for help with this, what do we call this rear? Thanks!
 
i have used an 8" from a maverick but it MUST be a maverick with front drum brakes. used an angle grinder to remove the spring perches and then installed and centered the housing and slid the perches on and used the "U" bolts to hold everything in place. you will need a driveshaft made and when thee shop makes that they can set the pinion angle and weld the spring perches in place. you will need to use the maverick backing plate and drums but all the rest of the 50 brake parts will fit. a bit time consuming but worth it. and there are plenty of gear ratios avalable for that 8". no one makes ring and pinions for the 50 differential.
 
Another option is a rear end from a mid '80's to early '90's Ford Ranger. Wheel bolt pattern is the same. WMS to WMS is 56 1/2 inch which is about 1/2 inch less than my stock '54 Ranch Wagon. Not sure of the WMS to WMS measurement on your '50. The Ranger unit I have is a 7.5 but Rangers also came with an 8.8 inch rear end. The 8.8 ones I found were wider than the 7.5's which is an issue on my Ranch Wagon. The 7.5's had smaller drum brakes than the 8.8 but the larger 8.8 brakes are a direct bolt on to the 7.5 rear end.
 
I thought the OP was about the identification of his existing axle, not a replacement. As in IDing parts.
 
JSeery said:
I thought the OP was about the identification of his existing axle, not a replacement. As in IDing parts.
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I agree. the question was what is the rear axle style or type called in his car, to help him get parts to repair. Sorry, I can't answer that question. I think it was the same type from '49 through '56 though. Has a center section that removes from the front like a 9" Ford rear axle. I always forget if that is called a salisbury type or banjo ?


Sal
 
I welcome all input! But yes, if I go out hunting a differential expert........he might not know right then what a 50 Ford had, but he might know about the differential itself. I'm saving any plans to replace the whole rearend, but I'm interested in that.

I'm going to go ask the machine shop guy, he's real smart. My thinking is: perhaps the ring and pinion could be okay and some bearings need replaced? I replaced the pinion seal when I got the car yard driving, also a speedi sleeve, but that's leaking again.

Been working on the car nearly two years, a little longer doesn't bother me too much. Thanks, everybody.
 
I've always found the weak point in these to be the axles. On the '51 I had in high school, the rear end howled from the moment I got it. Over the next 5 years, it kept on howling and I went through two broken axles. When I finally junked it, it was still howling but working perfectly. I now have two of them in vehicles. One is in my '51 (of course) and I wouldn't think of changing it out. The other is in the "T" Tub I am building. I am sure with the light weight of the car and a flathead for power, it will serve the purpose just fine.
 
tubman said:
I've always found the weak point in these to be the axles. On the '51 I had in high school, the rear end howled from the moment I got it. Over the next 5 years, it kept on howling and I went through two broken axles.
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The axles were a notorious weak spot. I lost 2 at different occasions many miles from home. One occurrence was on our way from Oregon to Detroit Lakes up in your neck of the woods. Very lucky to find a wrecking yard specializing in old parts. That was 25 years ago, no way in hell would I be that lucky now.

That is why I changed out to a 70s Granada.
 
Did it howl before you changed the pinion seal?....maybe that bearing is loose and making noise.....could be the reason it’s leaking again?.....Mark
 
flatford8 said:
Did it howl before you changed the pinion seal?....maybe that bearing is loose and making noise.....could be the reason it’s leaking again?.....Mark
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FF: I never had the car out on the road then. It had been sitting for years and years. That expensive Sta-Lube ran right through it when I first put some in there. So I changed the seal.

I studied how to do it; marking where the big nut was, etc. But the nut was finger tight, and I fumbled the yoke part and it fell out on the floor. So I had no idea how tight to put it back, ended up just using my breaker bar.....not as hard as I could.
 
Marking the nut works if it was adjusted right in the first place. You may have to take the axles and carrier out to get the preload on the pinion correct. But if your chasing the howl, you may be taking it apart anyway......Mark
 
The first picture shows a Salisbury-type rear end, whereas the ring and pinion, as well as the spider gears and other bits (the guts) are all assembled into the rear end housing itself. This Salisbury rear will most-assuredly have a gasketed cover bolted onto the rear of the housing for gear/axle access.




12boltchev.jpg



The second picture shows a Hotchkiss-type rear end with a removable center carrier, or "pumpkin", or as some in the South call 'em, a "chunk"! I believe Fords used this version from 1949 thru 1956. In '57, Ford went to the infamous 9" rear which was also of the Hotchkiss type.


hotchkiss_center_section.jpg



This third picture is, of course, our beloved old Ford "Banjo" rear end! DD


SAM_0926.jpg
 
Coopman's second pic is what I have, I guess. I had only lately learned that I can, (I guess), pull the axles and then take that middle chunk to somebody. Somebody who can assess the condition of all those parts.

I've got a whole file started about info on putting another rear in there. Even went to a big yard up in Missouri the other day. They had a few donor candidates, but the place is kind of a mess......everything sitting in the mud. Hard to measure stuff.

This car is my 70th birthday present to myself- still got about 6 months to get her nicer.
 
I always referred to it as the Ford type-1 3rd member rear axle. The older ones are all banjos and easier to name as such. The size of the carrier is such that it gets mixed up with the later 8 inch units. If it's howling then the pinion isn't running in the right place on the ring. Bad bearings or loose bearing preload cause noise. One when you let off the throttle and the other when you increase throttle. If the bearings are bad then it needs new bearings but if it's been running that way a long time then the ring & pinion likely have uneven wear on the teeth. It's harder to find R&Ps for these units now days. A later Ford 8-inch with 5 bolt axles will work or a 9-inch if you want a beefier unit. A Dana 44 can also be made to work.
 
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