new rear axle?

[BigRedTruck]

Short of machining a new one or going through a scrap yard..is there anyplace where you can get a new rear axle/differential?

[FORDification]

What exactly are you looking for? The whole differential from backing plate to backing plate or just the axle shaft? What kind of rearend do you have? Dana or Ford 9"?

[BigRedTruck]

not a clue...my uncle had this 62 uni-body he bought just for the rear part of the suspension axle/differ I'm thinking of moving the engine up this winter and working on it in the garage while its cold out. I'd like to get the rest of the truck too but ....no rear axle...

[4x4x4crewcab]

Try www.car-part.com search your region or state. It works great

[willowbilly3]

You would rather buy a NEW differential than go to a junk yard just to get a junker drug home??? You must have more money than I do.

[BigRedTruck]

not really its just that i live in a city and the junk yards get so much new stuff the older stuff is mostly crushed. what i have found the rear axles and differentials were already gone. i call my uncle back and he still has the original defective axle that came on the other truck...he bought the unibody just for the rear, so i could get the defective one and work on it.

[willowbilly3]

I have a disc brake expedition rear end I will sell for $250 or one without the rotors and calipers for $150. Both 3.54 ratio open. The junkyards get $600-$800 for them. It would be just the snitz to get dis brakes on an old half ton and these have the little drum parking brakes that actually work ( not like those old lincoln disc brake rears that the parking brake was a POS on.

[BigRedTruck]

thanks but i'm at that "have to do it yourself to learn phase" and i'd never figure out how to get those on...i'm so new to this stuff that i don't even know how the ratio means....its sad..just got my first tool set too. i've done mostly body work up to this point. cleaning fighting rust...changing rubber/wires/hoses that sort of thing. all really big work like that i can't do...come to think of it i don't even have any of those ramps you drive up on to get at the engine or even jack stands. When I was planning on going in for the lifters it decided to rain for a week straight...its very sad

[willowbilly3]

hang in there, you learn by doing and unfortunarely mostly from mistakes sometimes. Don't be shy about asking here when you need help. We were all there once.
By the way all the ratio means is how many turns the driveshaft makes for the wheels to make one revolition. So a 3.55 ratio means the drivehshaft turns 3.55 revolutions and the wheel turns one. In high gear ( not overdrive) the engine is turning the same speed as the drivehsaft. The confusing part is when someone talks about lower gears it really means a higher numerical ratio. Hence 4.11 gears are considered lower than 3.55s would be.