LUVTruck.com

You can weld those up to your tubes but it may look funny. I'd swap out for bigger tubes too though. It sounds like you had a small bearing 9 if it had tapered tubes. those also usually have 1 tapered axle shaft that cannot be narrowed (something to keep in mind for anybody else considering narrowing down stock 9 parts). these are "big bearing" housings.. you guessed it, time for new axle bearings. yeah the currie process of cutting off tubes and shoving them in and rewelding is really kind of over kill (or offforad), launching at 6000 on a brake with a car that bites on a icy pond type of thing. I've never twisted a tube off of a stock 9 housing before and I've beat on them pretty hard in a heavy car with traction. if it ever worries you in the future then you can weld a brace on the back of it and that will help.

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1978 LUV Truck 2WD
450 "Small Block" Chevy
3.70 Ford 9
28x10 Goodyears

If i go with bigger tubes, then i'll need to get new perches too. It looks like im going to end up building a whole new assy.

Talbots Law: For every little problem, there's a bigger problem struggling to get out.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

Ah but you will be ready next time. How do you think it is i got to know so much about narrowed 9's? LOL I have a couple of "mistakes" in my garage right now.

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1978 LUV Truck 2WD
450 "Small Block" Chevy
3.70 Ford 9
28x10 Goodyears

I just need to give the right dimensions to the axle man. After that, i'll need to keep track of what was done. Luckily i had drawings of my axle stored on disk. I even had part#s for the little goofy stuff.
But like i said before, the MAC tool man sold me a rear end that was worth 120 bucks. It's my problem to get it worth 1000 bucks.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

With everything removed from the axle assy, i looked straight down the axle centerline of the axle tubes. If i center up the passenger side tube, the drivers side tube looks like it angles downward. If this is the case, it's most likely the reason the drivers side bearing fails. I need to show this to the axle man.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

I just got back from Killeen. The axle is in the hands of the axle man. He confirmed that the axle has a bend to it. Since it's a light duty axle assy, there really isn't much that can be done with it performance wise. But he said he can fix it. He'll need to set it up on the jig to get a better idea of how off it is.
As for the new housing ends, they're not needed and they wouldn't fit anyways. So i guess i'll hang on to them for now. I could end up building a stronger unit later and the price of housing ends will most likely go up.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

I called to check on the axle today and it turns out that both axle tubes are bent/deformed. My options were either to work the assy to get it fixed or obtain a different housing and install the new housing ends. He's got a line on another housing i can buy for 75.00. Adding the new ends and fitting the perches will run me another 75.00. I should get everything back on monday.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

75 is decent for the housing. I'd cut the tubes off your old pumpkin and have new ones welded on and then put your new HD housing ends put on it. it wont be much difference cost wise but you can also get that one for 75 and if its a big bearing 9 then all you have to do is have the housing ends cut off and your HD ones put on.

I wonder how the hell tubes on your old rear end got so bent. it sounds like a home narrow job where the guy just eyeballed everything or he just used a stick welder to weld it up and the heat warped it.

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1978 LUV Truck 2WD
450 "Small Block" Chevy
3.70 Ford 9
28x10 Goodyears

The light duty assy i originaly had really isn't something that should have been modded. With all the work done on it, im suprised that it didn't have bigger problems. The 75.00 housing has better tubes and will be shortened to size and the Moser ends added along with reusing the axle perches. I have the capability to upgrade to 31 spline axles for more strength and that will be the limit of the small bearings. Anything above that will require a new, custom setup. By then, the truck will not see street use anymore and will become a track only truck.
Im glad im getting things fixed at a good price by a axle guy that knows his stuff. Plus if i need machine work of any kind, i got the axle guy to fall back on.
It should be rolling again by mid week.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

I got the axle housing back today. I didn't get much done to it because of the heat (100-F). I got on it around 6:30 and started sanding the rust off of it. I got it almost done on the exterior surfaces but i still need to clean up the inside pumpkin area. There's a spot on one of the tubes that looks like casting flaw so im going to take it back over to the axle man and get him to weld in the flaw. I dont think it would have weakened the tube, but rust could cause it to leak later on.
Just looking at the new assy one can see thats it's stronger than the old one.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

good to hear its coming together. I'm running a small bearing 9 in my LUV right now (out of a 1969 Cougar) but I have a couple big bearing housings that are narrowed down for when I go to a big tire. the rear end in it right now has held up fine over the years and I'm pretty hard on my stuff. BUT I dont trust it enough to hold up behind my new motor, converter and brake for any extended period of time.

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1978 LUV Truck 2WD
450 "Small Block" Chevy
3.70 Ford 9
28x10 Goodyears

I read that you can get a small bearing O.D. with the I.D. the same as the the big bearing. Don't know how strong it would be though...

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Resident lurker

you mean take a big bearing housing and slip it over the end of a small bearing axle tube? I've never tried that before. the tube really doesnt take that much stress (unless you're offroading and jumping it.) and so a smaller tube should be ok for medium to high perf applications. I'd consider trying it if it if i didnt think it would look kinda funny. In any case I've only devastated 1 ford 9 in my entire life and it was in a 3700# chevelle with a big block and 11.5" slicks and 4speed. I brought it up on the 2 step which was pilled for 5500or 6000 and dumped the clutch. it yanked the pinion gear right out of the 3rd member and then proceeded to rip the drivehshaft hoop out of the car and then it tried to come up thru the floorboards where the rear seat is but luckily the hoop which was still stuck around it kept that from happening. I've twisted the tubes on a 12 and 10 bolt before because they are only spot welded together but a 9.... ive never worried about the tubes thickness or diameter before... ever.

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1978 LUV Truck 2WD
450 "Small Block" Chevy
3.70 Ford 9
28x10 Goodyears

Are you talking about the bearings themselves? If so, that would need a different seal. I went thru some crap getting seals for my axle today. If you could provide a link that covers these bearings, that would be cool. Im thinking that the bearing would need to be a roller bearing of some kind.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

Here's some pics of the rework assy
Rust killer primer coated
Fresh paint
Moser housing ends with new axle seals

Brand new axle bearings.
Once the paint gets cured, i'll be putting it all back together.

_________________
Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

Forgot one...

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

Looks good. Don't you just love the simplicity of assembling a 9" ?

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1978 LUV Truck 2WD
450 "Small Block" Chevy
3.70 Ford 9
28x10 Goodyears

man thats freakin beefy!! i hope it all goes good for ya man!!

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"but its that gut feeling of you're drawn to what feels right for yourself and what you're passionate about..."

Yeah, I was talking about the bearing itself. The idea was so you could use the larger diameter shafts with axle tubes designed for the small bearings. I will see if I can find the thing again. Seems like there was a part number for the bearing too.

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Resident lurker

I got it back under the truck but i had some minor issues slowing me down. I got the u-bolts worked to fit the larger axle tubes and i spent a good bit of time slotting the holes in the shock mount plate. I misplaced the vent fitting and i spent 2 hours looking for the damn thing. I found it in the bed of my big truck.
So with the axle fitted into place and hardware hand threaded to keep it from moving, im going to fit the axles and backing plates to close it up fully. It might rain so i need to seal it up. I can always go over and tighten down the hardware tomorrow.

_________________
Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.