Broken third member

[rannugno]

Hi. My rear end (the Thunderbird...) do have serious problems. The axle housing gets very hot. smell hot oil and is to hot to touch. I've taken out the third member and delivered it to a local work shop. They tell that the yukon gear and some bearings have to be swapped. The problem is that the cost for this is extremely high here in Norway. Do you guys have a tip where to buy a reconditioned or a new third member?
Thank you in advance
Best regards, Gunnar

[simplyconnected]

Gunnar, make sure your bearings are good. Ring and pinion gears rarely get hot unless they are under extremely heavy load, the lubrication level is low or the setup is wrong. Gear lube (usually 90-weight) spreads the heat out as it lubricates the moving parts. 9" third members are still produced by aftermarket companies so, they are available. - Dave

[YellowRose]

Gunnar, first of all, do you know if your '58 Tbird 9" third member has 28 or 31 splines/teeth? Whoever has your 3rd member broken down, should be able to tell you that. Here in the US there are a number of companies who sell reconditioned, used, or new 9" third members. Summit Racing comes to mind, as does Speedway Motors, eBay and a good number of others. Google 1958 Ford Thunderbird 9" third member to see what you find. You should also be able to locate a Yukon gear and the bearings they said you need. I would also think that there must be places in Europe where you can get them from. If anyone in Europe knows of sources, please post. Shipping from the US will probably be expensive, unless you have arrangements with others here on shipping, as some in Europe do.. I have contacted Carl Heller ~ partsetal, on here, to see if could be of any help, but he does not have anything available. I have also left a message for John Draxler of Tbird Ranch...

[rannugno]

Hi and thank you for answers from you both.
There is definitly something wrong, the center part of the axle was so hot so I could not touch it. Even the rims was so hot that I first thought that there was something wrong with the brakes (but not as hot as the center unit). It also feels like there is small particles on the surface on the third member and I guess that is metal pieces. There is also a gear sound when the shafts is spinning in opposite directions.
The axle has 28 splines and the bearings are probably original from 58. New SKF bearings and seals have been ordered from Rock Auto.
I have tried to order third member from a company Speedmaster via E-bay. First they told me that their senter part eould fit my car, but later they canceled the order without telling me why.
Now I'm looking at a company named Quick Performance. Do you know this company?
Thanks Gunnar

[YellowRose]

I see you know it is a 28 spline unit. I do not know anything about Quick Performance, which is located in Iowa. Hopefully, some of our membership in Iowa do know good things about them and can let us know. Here is the link to their Ford 9" third member and parts. https://www.quickperformance.com/Com...ons_c_558.html

[Frango100]

Hi Gunnar, i don't know if you can/want to tackle this yourself. I live in Brazil and shipping and customs make the costs incredibly high, so i do as much as possible myself. I did a full rebuild of the 9" on my T-bird some time ago and it was not too bad to do. I changed all bearings and the ring and pinion (went with a 3:00 ratio instead of the standard 3:10). The only more difficult part was the torque of the pinion nut, which requires a very high torque value. In fact you torque until a crush sleeve starts to crush and a certain rotational torque of the pinion is obtained.
When i remember well i paid around USD 100 for the ring and pinion set and about the same for the bearings and seals kit (which it seems you already have ordered.
I remember that my differential also was quite hot before the rebuild (around 80 C) and went down to around 60C after the rebuild. My ring gear had quite some pitting on the teeth, probably due to corrosion after not being used for a long time.

[YellowRose]

Gunnar, thanks to John Draxler, of Thunderbird Ranch, he put me in contact with a company that specializes in Housing & Axles, Third Members, Brakes, etc... Here is the contact information on them.

John's Industries - Caspian, MI. 800-332-3450 sales@johnsindustries.com, Amie - contact. http://www.johnsindustries.com

I spoke with her and John, the owner, and they say they can get you what you need and they ship all over the world. If you have the ability to call them, you have the number, and if not, you have their email and can communicate with them via email. John said that if you can give him the dimensions of your yoke, u-joints, etc., they can match what you have so you do not have to make any adjustments. They have the 28 spline unit. I will give you a bit more information in a PM to you, shortly... Ohh, John said that if you contact them via email, if you can, send pix of your Third member, and axle/u-joint setup, which would be helpful to them.

I am going to add John's Industries to our Advertisements Forum, with their permission, as they may be a great source of parts and replacement units for those of us in need.

[simplyconnected]

Parts like this pop up from time to time. It just happens that someone on Facebook's Marketplace is offering a positraction Ford 9" third member for $400. Check it out:
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/935705533301282/

[rannugno]

Hi all,
Thank you for all support. I just want to write how this third member problem ended.
I was in a period looking for used refurbished third members on ebay and other sites. The problem is that shipping to Norway is extremely expensive, so if I bought one that didn't work I would lose a lot of money if I had to return it. So, in the end I decided to buy a new one that probably will not have any issues.
I bought a third member from Currie with ratio 3.00. This fitted to the rear end housing without any issues except that it had a 1330 yoke instead of 1310 and I had to swap the u-joint. I also put in new rear wheel bearings.
It was a bit difficult to find oil for the axle, Currie recommended EP80W-135 EP6 mineral. This oil does not exist in Norway. The closest I found was EP85W-140 EP5 mineral. I've talked to some "gear experts" and they say this oil will work well.
The rear axle is now without any noises and the car is like new.

[YellowRose]

Hi Gunnar! Thanks for the update on the Tbird, and how that third member problem worked out for you. I am glad to hear that you were able to get it taken care of and she is running like new again! Good stuff!