Are 9 1/4" rears buildable for performance?

[83Imp]

I know the Dana 60 is a great rear, but even 5 years ago when I was a diehard Mopar guy, they were big money. The 8.75 got popular amongst the guys that couldn't afford the Dana. Now, most of the 8.75s that I've seen are big money.

So what about the 9.25? Can it be built to take abuse? I know with my current Mustang, the Ford 8.8 with Moser or Superior axles, a good diff (Auburn or Eaton), and a girdle will take all kinds of abuse from DRs or slicks. Although my project car ('83 Imperial) won't be a dedicated drag car, it will at some point make some serious power and I know that from past experience, the 8.25" doesn't take much abuse and in a heavy car with decent power, it will break quickly. I know the 9.25s are easy to find from Dakotas, but should I even mess with finding one? Are there aftermarket diffs and axles for that rear? I was told on another board that the Dak. rear is close to the same width as my Imperial.

[440Ramcharger]

I have the 9.25 rear in my 83 Ramcharger. The vehicle is powered by a healthy 440. The rear end has taken many Low-Lock-four-wheel-drive launches on clean dry asphalt. It has also towed trailers with quads and such. For a semi-floater, I feel that the 9.25 is a very good rear end. Get a locker; EZ, Detroit, Aussie, and put some synthetic in 'er and go runnin'

[dwc43]

Originally Posted by 83Imp

I know the Dana 60 is a great rear, but even 5 years ago when I was a diehard Mopar guy, they were big money. The 8.75 got popular amongst the guys that couldn't afford the Dana. Now, most of the 8.75s that I've seen are big money.

So what about the 9.25? Can it be built to take abuse? I know with my current Mustang, the Ford 8.8 with Moser or Superior axles, a good diff (Auburn or Eaton), and a girdle will take all kinds of abuse from DRs or slicks. Although my project car ('83 Imperial) won't be a dedicated drag car, it will at some point make some serious power and I know that from past experience, the 8.25" doesn't take much abuse and in a heavy car with decent power, it will break quickly. I know the 9.25s are easy to find from Dakotas, but should I even mess with finding one? Are there aftermarket diffs and axles for that rear? I was told on another board that the Dak. rear is close to the same width as my Imperial.

1st off your mistaken on the 8 1/4's strenght. It's pretty equal to the 3/4 that is replaced and in some areas it is better. For instance the 1/4 does not have the housing flex like the 3/4 and 9 incher has. That's why moser makes back braces for both the 3/4 and 9 incher. This is the main reason for the 1/4's development other than the fact it was cheaper to produce. Many upgrades for the 1/4 as well. We 've run both 3/4 and 1/4 in dirt cars for years with no problems from either and both pretty much stock as well. And dirt is the most abusive of all motorsports on chassis parts. Not too easy on engines either.
As for the 9 1/4, it's pretty bullet proof. You'll find it under every 4x4. My RamCharger has one and so does my brothers '92 Ram with 3.55's stock. Tough rear. You can find most anything you need for a Mopar rear at Randy's. www.ringpinion.com

[SixGunner]

They are really quite tough. I know someone used to make a C-clip eliminator kit that would make it even tougher.

One thing I have noticed is over on the Ram Truck board, there are alot of guys saying that they are having problems with the Later Model (last couple of years) rear ends. But it's confined to the newer ones. Find one out of a truck, or certain Cordobas, vans, whatever from the late 70's up to about 1993 and use it! Screw them people who want big bucks for 8.75's! :flip:

Jay

[dwc43]

Originally Posted by SixGunner

They are really quite tough. I know someone used to make a C-clip eliminator kit that would make it even tougher.

One thing I have noticed is over on the Ram Truck board, there are alot of guys saying that they are having problems with the Later Model (last couple of years) rear ends. But it's confined to the newer ones. Find one out of a truck, or certain Cordobas, vans, whatever from the late 70's up to about 1993 and use it! Screw them people who want big bucks for 8.75's! :flip:

Jay

The newer rears are losing pinion bearing pre load. Nuts backing off the yoke and crush sleeve problems. I'm betting it's a problem with the facotry crush sleeve myself. That's what the evidence is pointing to. Mosier makes C clip eleminators.

[racintracy]

The problems I've heard with the newer ones tend to be with the trak loc unit. The clutch pack retainer breaks and a chunk of it goes into the abs sensor and breaks it and sets a code. Sometimes if it's ran awhile like that it all comes apart and trashes the housing.

Remember rearend width isn't the only thing to look at. Another thing to consider is the offset of the pinion. Make sure and measure that rear close against yours. I don't know if the 3rd gen Daks were offset like the old ones but I know my 93 had the driveline offset to the passenger side 1-3/4 inch. I found this out the hard way by trying to install a rear that had zero offset and the driveshaft was way out of line.

[pishta]

As long as the pinion and the trans output shaft are on the same X axis (minus a couple degrees on the pinion elevation) there should be no problem with the off center pinion barring any tunnel interference.