Ok, so now that I have decided on an engine and gearbox combination for my 85 datto ute (Series 5 13b turbo), I thought I might actually swap the diff out for a Ford 9" job while I get all the other parts together. Now, what I need to know is, if I am looking around for this diff, what should I be looking for, ie. should it be out of a specific car, does it need to be a 9" that has certain parts, etc on it? I am doing it this way, as it works out a bit cheaper than having a custom one made ready to bolt in. I got a quote for this today and it was $1850 complete and ready to bolt into the ute, add to this another $200 for skyline rear brakes with a handbrake setup.
So yeah, if anyone knows which one I should look for in particular to suit the suspension setup/layout of a datto 1200 ute, information would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Leigh

I dont think you woll get any 9 inch diff to fit with out modification, their all too wide

I am aware of that, considering how much narrower a 1200 is than any ford that uses a 9" diff from factory!

I think what go_the _datto is getting at is the housing and axle shortening is the part that will cost you the money...the $1850 'custom one' is not made from scratch, it's just a shortened 9". Only difference will be that you will be suppling them the axles and housings.

yeah ford 9inch is a big diff heavy and takes a lot of power to turn you migght kick my idea in the guts and thats cool but this is what i did i brought a VP commy diff for 400 bucks and spent 600 getting it shortend stud pattarn changed suspension mounts modified and then use the commodore brakes i got with the dif pretty cheapf

No, you are pretty well right there. Did quite a bit of ringing around yesterday, and have decided to go for a VN onwards LSD. I thought I might just change my stock diff's centre for an LSD one, but I am looking at $2500 for a new one, or $1200-$1700 for a second hand one....Commy diff is now on the cards, and hopefully it will be nice and strong. Has anyone had any bad experiences with them?

Leigh

You should put in the lightest diff that is strong enough (with a margin of extra strength). There's no advantage in making the car heavier than normal.

For example, the Ford 8.8 has 95% of the strength of a Ford 9 inch, but weighs something like 30% less.

For a road or road-racing car, having less weight under the springs will help improve handling and give a smoother ride.

OK, there's one advantage to the heavy diff -- if you can get one inexpensively compared to a lighter but more expensive one.

if u fit a 4d 9" it would b a disadvantage to big nothing wrong with a borg warner 78 or as some know as 8 & 3/4 they go alright behind4d xa's thrugt to au falcons or holden vl to vr old fords 25 spline new 28 sp all holden 28. best diff for 1200 con is a 28sp skyline use the disk brakes and all i use to work 4 diff trans spares in sydney dun heaps of cons.

The Ford 9" can handle about 500 lb-ft of torque. 1200s like Rigoli's 9-second ute, or Waylands electric-powered 2-dr sedan require this kind of strength.

For Ford 9" prices and a little more info, see the Tech Section article What Diff and LSD should I use?.

In the tech section, it says this:

Quote:

Does anyone have any idea which Falcon ute it is? And I would assume this is not the 9" diff? It'll have to be a fairly small ute to have a diff that will go straight into a 1200 without shortening, how long is it?

Thanks