Is this normal?

[zwhitr]

The pinion is pretty much dead center in all of ford's car line as far as I've seen. It's the 3rd member itself that makes for offset axles as the 3rd member never sits dead center in the housing. (ring gear can't be centered if pinion is) Now, I have seen many occasions where the whole axle assembly is actually mounted 1" or more tward the passenger side, for some odd reason. It's really noticable in alot of the 60's intermediates, easily seen on the 67-68 Cougar. And oddly enough, the car doesn't "dog-walk" at all...(surely not like a 4wd chevy pu!)

I too did a comparison with a pair of 67 Cougar axle shafts I had out of my brother's car at the time. Seemed to be right on the money. But like was said earlier, the retainers are different sizes. I didn't mic that part of the axle to see if the bearings could be pressed off and interchanged along with the retainer plates. I would imagine so, as Ford's been real good at keeping things the same and simple across the board.... until the MII anyways..

So what's the verdict? are the II axles the equal length I had mine out twice but can't remember..
I read once the twisting action of the car actually lifts the right rear up off the ground so car manufacturers made the axle longer on that side and the left side shorter. and offset the housing

This gives the longer axle less torque IE.. never use an extension on a torque wrench causes improper tightness.

 

[Johan]

So what's the verdict? are the II axles the equal length I had mine out twice but can't remember..
I read once the twisting action of the car actually lifts the right rear up off the ground so car manufacturers made the axle longer on that side and the left side shorter. and offset the housing

This gives the longer axle less torque IE.. never use an extension on a torque wrench causes improper tightness.

The axles are definitely not the same length. As far as why, I always thought it was for packaging. It's true that driveshaft torque applied to the rear axle tends to lift the right rear, but it doesn't matter where along the axle you apply that torque - it's the same amount of torque. As far as torque at the wheel, the shorter axle will deliver more torque, assuming their inboard ends turn the same amount. If you think of the axles as torsion bars with a certain 'spring rate' of so many foot-lbs per degree of twist, the longer shaft will be softer. It's like if you stand a 500lb/in spring next to a 1000lb/in spring (same free length), tie the two free ends together and compress the whole setup 1in. The soft spring has 500lbs of force on it and the heavy spring has 1000lbs of force on it. This is what gives the front drivers torque steer.

I disagree with you about the extensions on a torque wrench. Extensions on an impact wrench will lose a lot due to taking up clearances between hits. As long as all of your extensions are in line (no u-joints or leaning extensions) with the bolt being tightened, you're good. The extension will twist, and clearances between the parts will be taken up, but 90ft-lbs applied is 90ft-lbs applied. The difference is that instead of hearing a click after twisting the wrench say 45 degrees, you will hear the click after twisting 45.0xxx degrees.

I'm rambling again, aren't I.

 

[Dano78]

Action = Equal and opposite Reaction

It's actually the rotational force of the driveline that causes the RR tire to lift. When the Tires are planted, the rear end is locked, and the driveline is twisting the torque, where's it gonna absorb? Ever wonder why a car will pull the LF wheel on a really hard launch? The tranny/driveline tries to turn the whole axle like it'd turn a propeller (say, if the axle wasn't attached) Try ram-rodding it in reverse, I bet you'd find that the LR tire will be the one picking up and breaking loose the easiest. (not always true though)

As far as the axle shafts, yes I'm willing to bet all the shafts will interchance as long as the housings share the same overall width. -as most intermediates are. (i.e. an 8" out of a 71-73 stang/cougar definately wouldn't work because they are wider overall)

 

[2muchtime]

there is a big difference in the left and right II axles. (simply said)
ome is 25 7/8in the other is 29 7/8in..

back to the scoop i simply cut a 12 in centered hole in my hood, used the factory scoop and installed a k+n top flow 9 in lid.. im done..
the only pic i have is with the scoop off , getting ready for paint.
i also have a pic on axles..

 

[Wart]

there is a big difference in the left and right II axles. (simply said)
ome is 25 7/8in the other is 29 7/8in..

Measured from where?

 

[THE COBRAMAN]

Re: axle shafts, bearings, and retainer plates

In my case, it was far from a simple swap. When attempting to swap bearing retainer plates, they would not drop over the Maverick shafts. As I recall, the Mav shafts had a larger shoulder at the bearing ID, so I wound up having the shafts machined to use the II plates, bearings, and collars.

 

[Dano78]

In my case, it was far from a simple swap. When attempting to swap bearing retainer plates, they would not drop over the Maverick shafts. As I recall, the Mav shafts had a larger shoulder at the bearing ID, so I wound up having the shafts machined to use the II plates, bearings, and collars.

Sorry, i guess we got a little :OT: Just have to ask Cobraman what year of maverick he got his axles from. Reason why I ask is because the axle shafts did change after '73. If it was a '74-up I could definately see where machining would be needed, as the axles do have a little more beef.

OKAY...... Back to you!

 

[THE COBRAMAN]

Just have to ask Cobraman what year of maverick he got his axles from. Reason why I ask is because the axle shafts did change after '73. If it was a '74-up I could definately see where machining would be needed, as the axles do have a little more beef.

Dude, that was 20 years ago!!! I don't know, but it was dark green, if that helps!

Seriously, weren't the early Mavs all 4-lug, til the discs came on board about '74 or so?

 

[Dano78]

Whaddya mean ONLY 20 years!!??!! Geezzzz makes sound like the mind ROTS with age...

One would think but.... the V8 Mavericks/Comets were all 5 lug and in '72 Disc Brakes were added to the option list but were for the most part, unheard of. And just as you said, disc brakes did became standard on all post-'74 V8 Mavs and more common on even the I6 Mavs as wellas the dropout 8" rear axle. Alot of the earlier (69-73) I6 mavs did once in a while use the weak Falcon integral rear axle. Funny thing was, power assisted Disc brakes on a maverick was a hit and miss option. Alot of them were non-power assist disc brakes.