Installing Solid Rear Axle & Need some Advice

[zthis]

I decided to install a solid rear axle in my car. So i cut the back out of it before I changed my mind. Work is progressing well but now its decision time

I was planning on getting a Ford 9 inch setup But i can get my hands on a

used Dana already setup for 4 link and the exact width that I need. It will

probably save me $1000 going this route. Other than the 70 lbs extra weight

its going to add to the car are there any other negatives that I should know

about.

And if anyone's got any pictures of a 4 link setup for a Z car i'd love to see

them.

I test fitted first with 28 12.5 ET streets but I think 30 13.5 would give me better ground clearance ?

Advice Please...

Thanks

Curtis

[grumpyvette]

PERSONALLY,Id VASTLY PREFER the DANA 60 over the ford 9" as its significantly stronger, its a HUGE plus to save the cost also, GO with the DANA and never give a ford 9" a second thought.

the fords easier to set the gears up in and lighter in weight but that extra weight in the DANAs all STEEL in the correct places to add significantly more durability & strength

 

http://www.autohobbydigest.com/dana.html

 

http://www.drivetrain.com/dana60.html

 

or put a differant way, Ive busted up several 12 bolt chevys and a couple 9" fords but never hurt a dana 60

[1 fast z]

A 9" Has a pilot bearing, which makes it super strong ring and pinion, and with a ring gear snubber its bullet proof! A dana is WAY too heavy, and a good 9" is just as strong if not stronger. Also cheaper to build, plus you get a drop out third member with a 9".

[JMortensen]

A 9" Has a pilot bearing, which makes it super strong ring and pinion, and with a ring gear snubber its bullet proof! A dana is WAY too heavy, and a good 9" is just as strong if not stronger. Also cheaper to build, plus you get a drop out third member with a 9".

Depending on what gear ratios you run you sometimes have to grind most of the support for the pilot bearing away to clear the ring gear teeth. Stock housings are good to about 350 lb/ft on most heavy American cars. Not sure how much they would hold with a light Z chassis. If you're looking for serious power and drag racing style shock loading, you're going to have to replace most of what is in a 9", the third member housing, pinion support, yoke, axle shafts, etc. 9 inches are great because they're so commonly used that you can find all kinds of cool hop up parts cheap, but a stock 9" out of an old Ford car especially is not the greatest diff by a long shot.

 

That said I don't think a Dana 60 is the right choice for our lightweight cars either. In my opinion a built 9", 12 bolt, or even an 8.8 should do fine for most of our drag racer project cars.

 

What exactly is a ring gear snubber? Never heard of that one. I know what a pinion snubber is, although how it would relate to installing a 9" in a Z is a mystery to me unless someone was to go with leaf springs...

[1 fast z]

You take a special bolt, and drill and tap the third member, and insert this bolt in the side of the third member, and set it up to about .005" away and perpendicular to the ring gear, this way the ring gear cannot flex away from the pinion. Really thats what breaks gears, is the pinion and ring gear seperating from eachother, not the gear just breaking because its weak, unless you have a low low gear, to where the pinion has to get small, and makes contact area less.

[240Z_478]

Not to take away from the origional post but, I will be installing a 4 link 9" in the near future and am wondering how the full kit that summit offers would be? http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=CEE%2D1412&N=700+115&autoview=sku It looks fairly simple to install and would save a lot of headaches on setting up the four link. By simple I am not alking just a bolt in process I am aware of the time this will take I am just not sure that I could set it up properly building it myself. This kit would have almost everthing necessary to get the 9" in my car.

[zthis]

I think a problem with the kit will be that its designed for standard length rod

bars and without cutting to make it shorter the high point on the frame where the shock mounts attach will be too far back....i think???

[JMortensen]

You take a special bolt, and drill and tap the third member, and insert this bolt in the side of the third member, and set it up to about .005" away and perpendicular to the ring gear, this way the ring gear cannot flex away from the pinion.

That is a good idea. I guess the "special" part of the bolt is some sort of wear surface?

[240Z_478]

It says that the parts can be custom ordered. I think almost all parts on the rear end can be changed it would hopefully just be a lot of measuring and fitting to get it in there. I would just make a 4 link but I am not sure where to even start. I am an import guy and have not delt with or even looked at a 4 link. I would have no idea where to begin. Its not that I could not do it, just that I would just be worried that something would be mis measured and ruin the set-up. Is there maybe a web site or a book explaining in detail how to set up the back halving and the 4 link?

[jbk240z]

While the Ford 9" is an awesome piece and the aftermarket support is better, The Dana is a great deal stronger. The Ford has a 9" ring gear, (duh) and the Dana has a 10" or 10.5" gear. The Dana is heavier and probably overill for a Z, but if you can get a deal already set up for a 4 link, go for it. The dana also has tree trunk sized axles.