What is it that is the weak part in the stock 10 bolt? What usually breaks? housing,ring pinion, axles? and do the after market covers that claim to strengthen your rear end actually help or just a wast of money? are there after market parts to replace the weak parts in a 10 bolt that will hold up. how much better are the 12 bolt replacements i have heard they are not super strong either. is it just best to just bolt in the freakin blue oval 9"? I drive a chevy and dont want any ford parts on my car but would much rather have a strong rear end then get towed home... I have a stock 98 with a T56 new T56 I broke the output shaft twisted it in two. that sucked but no rear end probs yet and hoping not to have any.... I have launched hard several times and broke the stock ta put an adjustabel one on.... thanks for any info

 

Yes, the 10-bolts are weak. It's the carrier and gear sets that break. The housing is not going to break (). The axles have a way higher risk of breaking, but even still it is not that likely you will strip an axle. Guess it's not likely you'll snap the output shaft of your transmission either though.

Don't kid yourself a 12-bolt can be very tough. At 8 7/8" the 12-bolt ring gear is huge compared to the puny 10-bolt gear set.

The cover will help your rear stay together, and certainly won't hurt your setup, but you're not working with much to begin with. If you can get a used girdle for cheap, that might buy you a little time, but don't bank on it.

Ben T.

 

The 10-bolt ring gear is too small. There's nothing you can do to make it stronger.

My 12-bolt is holding up to an 800 lb-ft/800HP nitrous motor. A buddy of mine took his 4,000# 30th SS convertible deep into the 9's with a 12-bolt, making close to 1,000HP on a blown 383.

 

thankx for the info

 

FWIW, I just sheared 2 teeth off the PINION gear of my 4.10's on the weekend. I was road racing when this happened though! (not "street" ... "road"). The diff. held up all day Saturday and for the morning on Sunday, then after a couple warm-up sessions, when I came off the track I heard a nice little "thunk, thunk, thunk" from under the car. So I didn't race, and fortunately the car got itself home, where I pulled the cover and found 2 and a half teeth stuck to the magnet on the cover.

... I wish I could afford a 12-bolt right now.