ford 7.5 what are they good for????


small ranger

15+ Year Member

Solid Axle Swap
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
219
Points
3,101
Age
47
City
dirty south
Vehicle Year
1984
Transmission
Manual
I welded my 7.5 rear end. I had 9.5X30 tires. With in 500 mi I broke both u-bolts holding the carrier and destroyed the ring and pinion!!! So are the 7.5 rear ends good for anything but an open carrier???


---dave
 
Well no. It is my off roading rig but I deceided to take it on my honey moon and it made it about 200 miles before exploding.


--dave
 
absolutely nothing
 
im surprised it made it that far. A welded diff should never be driven on the road for more than maybe 5-10 miles. And even that far id be hoping and praying.
 
small ranger said:
I welded my 7.5 rear end. I had 9.5X30 tires. With in 500 mi I broke both u-bolts holding the carrier and destroyed the ring and pinion!!! So are the 7.5 rear ends good for anything but an open carrier???


---dave
Click to expand...

I would say something was not put back together correctly. That is not a normal failure on any RBV axle. Having the spiders welded shouldn't cause that to happen either.

Since it's broke, I'd say go ahead and find a 8.8" for it (I'd also put a locker in it instead of welding it if it'll spend any time on the street).
 
My guess is either the pinion was too deep, or the backlash was incorrect. I'm leaning towards the latter, caused by the carrier bearing shims being flipped and the ring gear being too close to the center axis of the pinion. This would have generated huge forces between them and would have likely caused the failure of the bearing caps and gear teeth.
 
4x4junkie said:
I would say something was not put back together correctly. That is not a normal failure on any RBV axle. Having the spiders welded shouldn't cause that to happen either.

Since it's broke, I'd say go ahead and find a 8.8" for it (I'd also put a locker in it instead of welding it if it'll spend any time on the street).
Click to expand...

X2....I ran a welded diff on the street for several years and broke axles every so often until I finally blew up the ring and pinion and carrier. But that was after ALOT of abuse.....ROTFLMAO! :D:p
 
As stated above a properly welded and installed diff will not make the bearing caps fail. Most likely the gears where not set up properly after welding then when they failed force was applied to the caps causing them to fail.
 
Both mine have held up well. One has a ford l/s unit in it, I am pretty hard on it. The other is open, but they have had minimal maintenance.. Minimal meaning.. nothing.
 
Mine held up in my Bronco II for 5 years with 35" tires, 5.0L, and a dual case transfer. That was with a tight pack possi. I finally did spit the carrier through the caps, mostly about a mean 2nd gear transgo shift kit with a 5.0L on pavement.

My brother has a 5.0L twin turbo with a welded 7.5 rear, it has run 11's quarters with 1.6 60ft's for some time now. It did break one axle when we had a wheel hop problem.

I say you had a problem with your install.
 
I did an almost even up swap for mine to an 8" out of a 70 something Maveric, he used it to make a post hole digger out of it!
Dave
 
Something wasn't set up right. I beat on mine welded with a V8 and 32" SX's for a year. the ring and pinion both had chipped gears. Never even whimpered.
 
I ran a welded 7.5 for many years without fail. I completely decimated a pair of Glacier grip IIs because of it. I still have the front two in good shape. I never broke an axle either. I did have the truck 6' in the air more than once or twice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Sponsored Ad

TRS Events & Gatherings

Where We Were in 2025 – The Ranger Station

Latest posts

Featured Rangers

Want to see your truck here? Share your photos and details in the forum.

TRS Latest Video

Official TRS Merchandise

Follow TRS On Instagram

Latest Album Photos

IMG_4690.JPEG
IMG_4689.JPEG
IMG_4688.JPEG
IMG_4679.JPEG
IMG_4656.JPEG
IMG_4625.JPEG
IMG_4562.JPEG
IMG_4561.JPEG
IMG_4560.JPEG
IMG_4559.JPEG
IMG_4558.JPEG
IMG_4445.JPEG

Product Suggestions

Back
Top