9's are tough axles...one of the best made by ford. The best way to see if you have a 9 is like Demon said, check the bottom 2 bolts on the housing. If you can get a socket on there then you do not have a 9" rear. Bad a$$ axles, I lucked up and have a 9" in both my stangs.

 

As mentioned - very strong and that has lead to the developement of a lot of performance parts such as different ratio gears, high strength axles, multiple options for limited slip, etc.

And for you NASCAR fans, it's the only rear end allowed by the rules. Yep Chevy, Dodge and Toyota teams all use the Ford 9".

 

cool!

 

... but are any of the actual parts on it made by Ford? I'm guessing that everything, including the housing, are aftermarket parts.

 

Unless it's a 31 spline Nodular 3rd member it's no stronger than an 8'....just heavier.

 

So a 31 spline with a standard cast case is no stronger than an 8"? I guess that also means that the Strange 9" aluminum case with 31 splines is no stronger than an 8" either? Hmm ...

 

a 8inch a 9inch and the 8.8 all can be built to hold some big power just depends on your wallet