Ford 9" Gear Setup Question

[RockMonkey]

Cliffs Notes version: Can I swap the pinion housing from one third member to another?

Full text version: Okay, I need some help here. I've never setup gears in a 9" before. I've only done Dana 60s. I have two third members. One that's 30 years old, full of grease, and requiring a lot of wire wheeling and paint. The other is much newer, cleaner, and painted. So I started installing a Detroit and gears into the newer third. I got the pinion gear all set up. Preload feels good, got the new bearings and races pressed on and everything. I used the old 20 thousands shim as a place to start and bolted the pinion into the third member. I was just about to bolt the Detroit in and start messing with the adjusters when I noticed that the third member is pretty badly damaged from a failed bearing. I don't trust that the new bearing wont spin in there, and I don't know if I can thread the adjuster nut in it even. Okay, so now I'm resigned to use the old, dirty third, but I need to know if I can just take the whole pinion assembly that I just set up, and bolt it into the other third member? Is the pinion housing matched to the third member like the bearing caps, or can I swap those around? I'd really rather not swap the bearing races, but I'll do what I have to do... So who knows nines? Milner?

 

[RockMonkey]

Oh, I should add the third member casting codes. This might make a difference.
The newer third is stamped with C7AWE20.
The older third is stamped with C7AWE85.

 

[gijohn40]

now don't take my word for it but I think that all 9 in are pretty much the same... I know alot of guys that swap out the members as they need to... and in drag racing they usually have several of them set up with different gears so all they have to do is unbolt and install the other set...

 

[waynehartwig]

I've never seen this question asked before... But I say that if you can bolt it up and get a good pattern, BL and pinion depth ok, then your ok doing it. I say that because 1)BL and PD mean everything and 2) they make/sell aftermarket pinion supports that fit them all, and not just certain years.

 

[Milner]

Yes, you can do it swap them. Might change you shims a little, but that is all.

 

[RockMonkey]

Yes, you can do it swap them. Might change you shims a little, but that is all.

Thanks. I figured you would know. I haven't started to check for pinion depth, backlash or pattern yet, so changing shims was in my future anyway. I'll just swap the housings.