Flipping a ford 9 inch

[west747]

i had this crazy idea the other day that i could flip my 9inch rear-end over so that it would be a high pinion axle! i have heard that the pinion bearings would burn up from a lack of gear oil. my question is, is there any way to make some sort of channel that would catch the gear oil kicked up by the ring and use it to lubricate the pinion bearings? has anyone ever heard of flipping a 9 inch? has anyone been succsesful at this? i know currie make a high pinion third member by they want WAY to much for it! any info or opinion on this would be greatly appreciated! thanks.

 

[far_right]

NO!! cant be done... unless you want to drive in reverse...

 

[west747]

guess that was a dumb question then.lol.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

If you've got a 5-speed, you'll have 5 reverse gears and one forward gear. Auto would probably give you 3 reverse gears.

A friend of mine actually installed a D60 upside down, thinking that the stock J20 configuration high pinion. He realized the mistake when I pointed out the 09D on the side of the housing.

 

[redrooster]

That and the wheel cylinders were upside down.
High pinions are overrated anyway. If it hangs up then just back up a few inches and hammer down.

 

[Snitty]

back in my rookie days, i though of that as well... with enough modification, it could work... but CERTAINLY not worth it.... but... the 5 reverse gears and one forward gear would be quite confusing to a jeep thief...

 

[far_right]

That and the wheel cylinders were upside down.
High pinions are overrated anyway. If it hangs up then just back up a few inches and hammer down

in jeeps its not really the ground clearence, its the driveshaft angle

 

[west747]

the backing plate can be moved easiyl but it still doesnt seem worth wild. my only concern is the high angle of a SOA set-up with a low pinion axle. oh well i am sure they make a cv for any application...hopefully..

 

[jps4jeep]

With all the custom parts, machining, and fabricating, it might be cheaper in the long run to find a good, used high pinionn third member for the 9" They are out there, some where.

 

[redrooster]

I have an 18" rear CV driveshaft that gets pounded on, with no problems. It's been in there for 3 years. I say forget about the high pinion and get the CV shaft.

 

[far_right]

used high pinionn third member for the 9" They are out there, some where

yup... there are they come from currie enterprises... and use an 8.8" ring/pinion... ford never made a HP 9" or a front 9 for that matter

 

[redrooster]

Currie also uses the racing style third member like Nascar. You can get them from Strange and Reider. They have different pinion bearing arrangement which allows for more lubricationa and tolerates more abuse. I have seen a few stock 9" axles break at the pinion from abuse. Overall, it's a good axle though.