Sorry Simon - I always thought it was Rick because of the "rust-rick" in your avitar. You can pull either side to measure. Just pull it out part way and see if the 4 lug bearing is the bigger 2.835 x .845. If it is smaller, we need to know the size so we can start to document a pattern of car years, engines and sizes. If it is the same size bearing, lets also measure the axle from the bearing to the spline tip to see if the length is the same. If it all matches, it will swap as many have said it would. If it is different it will not, as many others have said too! Eric J .
its ok ... i really hadnt thought of my avatar as my name.. hehehe.... why would ford make so many different axles sizes and bearings... it doesnt make any sense... i dont have any calipers so i dont think i could get an accurate measurement ont he bearing... and my bearing.. you mean the bearing that is pressed onto the axle itself... right?
Ford has always made a ton of variations of the same part. That is why using the words "all Fords" and "Ford always" are usually incorrect ! No big deal if you don't have a calipers. A good scale or tape measure will get you close enough to see if it is the same bearing or a smaller one. You will spot the bearing in a second once you have it pulled out. Sometimes the axle will pull out with a little tug once it is unbloted. If it is stuck pretty good, I will put the wheel back on loose and pull on it and use the wheel like a slide hammer. If it is really stuck bad, a real slide hammer will get it out fast. Here is a picture of the bearing - you can't miss it.
I took a measurement of the 5 lug axles to get a comparison on length. I measured from the OUTER surface of the bearing to the splined tip. 27 1/4" on the long axle 23 1/4" on the short axle
May be easier to measure the circumference of the bearing and use simple math to calculate the diameter. C / 3.1416 = D
You wont get any leaking out by just unbolting it. Once you pull the axle out, then you might. If you just jack up the side your working on, none will come out. If the axle is level , it may get a little trickel if the oil level is where its supposed to be.
Got it out. Was kind of stuck, but pressing evenly back against the side of the brake pads with pry bars on either side got it out pretty easily. The bearing measured 2.675 inches around and 0.828 wide. The bearing has F-206A-KK on it. The axle was exactly 27 and a half inches long from the outside of the bearing. I included a picture of where the other end of the tape measure was at when I measured. This is the passenger side rear axle from a '72 Maverick that originally had a 200. First rear axel I have ever pulled. Much easier then I expected. No oil came out... Sure did stink though. When I go back up to NC next weekend I will pull the axels out of my '73, '74 and '76 and measure all of those. They are all 5 lug. Very intresting thread.
THANK YOU JAMIE Picture proof of the smaller bearing with documentable measurements, I love it! Jamie, you do not have to bother pulling any of your 5 lug axles, as we are all pretty convinced there is only the bigger 2.835 x .845 bearing in them. It would be a waste of time. If you have an more 4 lugs to document that would be great! What we need to find is an example of the bigger bearing 4 lug, and from there start to see if we can figure out what year a change over came in. Excellent reporting! Thanks again! Eric J
You shoulda just sold dude the axles. Just file away your warning and his response should he ever say you didn't tell him. Of course I wouldn't do it at first, but with the response he gave you, he deserves it. Dave
No problem Eric, I was happy to gain the experience of how to remove the rear axels. Never had done it before. I actually checked it with 2 diffrent calipers, that cheap digital one and another very old one that has been in my family for years. The cheapo one you just hit the yellow button and it zeros automatically. I used it for the picture for the odvious reason that there was no mistakeing the reading. The numbers on the old caliper are small and could not be read clearly in the picture. I also made sure to "feel" the caliper around the bearing to make sure that was the absolute biggest part and that the arms were sitting evenly.
Ok guys,I've tried this.Not only are the bearings different,but the 4 bolt axle flange pattern is different,so the 5-lug backing plates won't bolt up either.And the 4 lug rear is actually a bit wider than the 5 lug.Why?Because the 4 lug brakes are narrower than the 5 lug,but both rears give you the same rear track sooo....the 4 lug rear is a bit wider to give the same track width.I basically dissasembled 2 good rearends trying to get away from swapping a whole(read-heavy on one guy)complete rear.I can't give exact measurements,but I do know the only thing that will interchange is the center stump,chunk,pumpkin,whatever you wanna call it.
Tim, what year and engine size was the 4 lug with the smaller bearing in? I'm trying to build a list to see if there is a pattern to this.
