Uprgrading the rear end

[96 7.3L cowboy]

Is it possible to upgrade the rear end on a 1996 F250 with a stock rear end to a one ton rear end out of an F350? Just curious if I need to upgrade just the driveline and rear end or if it's going to cause issues with my transmission/transfer case.

[ol_Blue97]

Its the same rear... somewhere along the line there was a 10.5 pinion instead of a 10.25, but u will be fine with what ever u throw at it. Unless its like 600hp or something then u may have a few issues later on. But its a pretty decent rear and

[96 7.3L cowboy]

So no difference between the F250 and F350 rear end?

[ol_Blue97]

I dont belive so, not in 96... i hear that some of the limited slip diffs were dana 60s, but i have no proof

Google will be your friend, but i can tell that the rear in your truck will be fine unless its wore out at which you would have problems anyway

[85_305]

They are Sterling pieces... there is nothing wrong with them

[mjonesjr]

The rear axle in the pre-99 models is the Sterling 10.25. There was 2 versions used; 1 was a semi-floating and the other was a full float version.

Semi-float:




Full-float:




In '99 Ford put the Sterling 10.5 in the Super Duty. The only difference in the 10.25 and the 10.5 was the diameter of the ring gear and disc brakes. The housing measurements are the same on the 10.5 as the 10.25; that is why the '08 10.5 aluminum diff cover fits the 10.25.

[96 7.3L cowboy]

What it comes down to is I want a heavier duty rear end. I'm having a load of problems with the oversize tires I have I think that it's causing the majority of my headaches. I don't know if this would actually solve the problem, which is why I'm asking around. Thanks for the support btw, it's pretty interesting to get in the loop of things.

[Slimline]

What size tires are you running? What issues are you having? The 10.25 is a very stout rear end. I cant see you having a problem with anything 44" or less with the right gearing. Gears are your friend. If you upgraded to 40" tires with 3.55 gears you shot yourself in the foot. Every modification has supporting mods that should be done.

I rebuilt the track lok in my full float 10.25 in february. It was a pain in the *** in the cold but made a huge difference in performance.

If you are having vibration issues it could be tires, bearings, driveshaft, differential slop, carrier bearing, torque converter shudder, ujoints, etc. There are so many potential possibilities. Start with what the issue is and we will try and help.

[96 7.3L cowboy]

35" Open Country Toyo M/T's; stock rear end. I've had my driveline break the bolt in the yoke, break the flange yoke on the transfer case twice, got a brand new driveline built and balanced and u joints installed on the driveline at the factory and I installed the driveline in the truck myself. This last go around I lost the cap on the u joint and it vibrated so bad it's cracked my tranny case.

[Slimline]

You are preaching to the choir hear man, I have over 1200 bucks in my rear shaft. I had mine balanced, new joints and installed. It wasnt right, through its balance, destroyed my rear yoke, the carrier bearing and all the joints. I never cracked a case but it sounds like more of a driveshaft issue still, not the rear end. Maybe your driveshaft was installed out of phase, causing the vibration which led to the destruction.

I bought a digital level, there is more to installing a driveshaft than bolting it up. I am not saying you dont know that, but I learnt the hard way on my f150 through a similar issue the angles at each yoke need to be set specifically. My truck has a 2 piece shaft so it is different, but your pinion angle still matters.

If a bad ujoint was installed, or you over/under torqued the bolts on the yoke it could have caused the catastrophic failure.