Ford Axles

How well do you know the guy with the axles, and how much does he like you? I.e., is he going to forgive you if you stuff them up?

When I'm doing engineering work that's a stretch on my abilities, I try to be strict about separating the work I do into "things I should already know if I were a journeyman at this here stuff" and "things that I _do_ know" -- then I only charge for the things I do know. I think if you're honest with yourself you could do the same.

You really need to do some research... some of the Ford axle shaft can't even be resplined because they "neck down" and others have "tapered" shafts. At $160 - $180 for a custom length, forged alloy axle shaft, you aren't going to make much resplining a stock shaft:

Depends on the application too. For a dragster, I wouldn't touch it. If making a little garden tractor using narrowed Ford diff, I'd cut a section out of the center of the axle, with the thick end bored and the thin end necked down for a press fit, and then weld it back together - using the factory splines.

The guy who contacted me (not the customer) said it was for a race car ... and I think I'm gonna pass on this one . I did do some research , the 31 spline axles can be shortened and recut splines , the 28 spline axles can't be shortened . 31's can be turned into 28's , by machining down the end to the proper diameter . I'm gonna recommend he buy the forged alloy units .

I have a Ford axle in the shop that I picked up at a farm that was destined for housing development. It was a replacement for the Ford van that was junked there, I guess. It is a 31 spline unit. The spline part of the axle is actually tapered .010-.015, or so to fit the differential. There is also the knob on the end of the axle for the keeper. From the spline area, the axle tapers smaller for a few inches, then begins a steady increasing taper out to the bearing area and the wheel hub.

I concur with the recommendation to buy!

Paul