My biggest mistake

[Littlebeefy]

I’ve done what can only be described as a shit ton of work on my Bronco. At this point it’s only about 10% original (by weight hahaha). As mistakes go, it’s not a big one, but I want to share with you my biggest regret. I wish I had welded a bung for a drain on my 9”. It would have been so easy to do at the time. Now, not so much. Take my advice and do it if you ever have the housing out. Not having a drain plug is the biggest flaw in the 9” in my opinion.

[351FUN]

Why?  I thought about adding one to my D60, but when fluid changes are done so rarely it's not like it matters much.  Pulling the cover also gives you a chance to inspect everything every few years.

[Littlebeefy]

Several reasons. First off, it makes a mess draining from the chunk. If I’m just pulling the axle shaft then I have a slow drip of fluid that is unceasing and another mess. Second, you can’t get all of the dope out just by loosening the chunk; there is still a pool of dope that sits below the lip. Third, the metal shavings and any other particles end up in the bottom of that remaining pool of dope. With a bung on the bottom and a magnetic plug then all of those problems would go away.

[85lebaront2]

Good points Chad. When I rebuilt my friend's 10.25" Sterling, I put a 3/8" NPT hex socket pipe plug in the bottom. I should have done it when I swapped the housing and installed the traction loc on Darth.

[Gary Lewis]

Here's how I did it on Dad's 9" rear axle.  The "berm" around the plug is to ensure it doesn't get knocked off.

[grumpin]

That's slick Gary, I like that!

[BigBrother-84]

Gary Lewis wrote

Here's how I did it on Dad's 9" rear axle.  The "berm" around the plug is to ensure it doesn't get knocked off.

Gary, is this a short piece of pipe, conical welded?

[Gary Lewis]

Yes.  I put a short piece of pipe on there and welded/ground/welded/ground until I got what I wanted - a shape that could take a hit on a rock w/o knocking the plug off.

[Nothing Special]

351FUN wrote

Why?  I thought about adding one to my D60, but when fluid changes are done so rarely it's not like it matters much.  Pulling the cover also gives you a chance to inspect everything every few years.

It's been talked around here, but the Ford 9" doesn't have a cover.  Instead you pull both axle shafts and the driveshaft and then remove the third member.

And with my 9" that's been rotated up to compensate for the suspension lift on a short wheelbase early Bronco, there's a substantial amount of gear lube that won't run out, so you end up having to sop it out with a rag or something.

I don't have a drain plug on mine, but I wouldn't describe it as a mistake in my case.  I hit the diff on enough rocks as it is.  I don't want to do anything that would cost me any ground clearance there.

[351FUN]

I've never played with one of those axles and that changes things significantly, ignore everything I said.

[85lebaront2]

Here's what I did on my friend's 1995 F350 10.25" Sterling. Center section is a casting so is pretty thick. I just drilled and tapped for a 3/8 NPT plug and used a hex socket plug that is screwed in almost flush.