Ford Racing M-4010-G3

[Joe's Garage]

Anyone know where I can get one? Available in 2013 as an upgrade to M-4010-A88 but I'm having extreme difficulty finding one now ...

8.8" IRS HOUSING KIT W/GIRDLE COVER

[spdbrake]

Might try these two vendors.

Mustangs Unlimited - The Premier Source for Mustang, Shelby and Cougar Parts and Accessories

Home Page

[Joe's Garage]

Originally Posted by spdbrake

Might try these two vendors.

Mustangs Unlimited - The Premier Source for Mustang, Shelby and Cougar Parts and Accessories

Home Page

Thanks spdbrake, Mustangs Unlimited no can do ...
"The product you tried to add to your cart is no longer available. Please continue shopping."

I'm talking with Mike (Fort's Parts Connection) to see what options are available, the M-4010-G3 just isn't available.

[blykins]

Seems like all those part numbers have been discontinued.

You may have to find a housing from a Mustang, then add a girdle and parts, or step up to the replacement housing for the 15-16 Mustangs that you can buy new from Ford.

[Joe's Garage]

Originally Posted by blykins

Seems like all those part numbers have been discontinued.

You may have to find a housing from a Mustang, then add a girdle and parts, or step up to the replacement housing for the 15-16 Mustangs that you can buy new from Ford.

True, they are discontinued but "usually" you can find those items through suppliers with old inventory as long as the product run wasn't too long ago. Then you can always go refurbished and rebuild with new internals which is what a majority of the FFR guys have done with their 8.8 IRS setups.

[eschaider]

Joe,

You might want to consider a 2007 - 2010 Explorer IRS center from Ford. They are decidedly more
robust and also have improved front mounts that you can see in the pics below:



This is closer view of the front mounts:



The rear cover in your pic can be sourced from FRPP or you can go to the aftermarket and buy one of the
many similar covers.

If you have the time, motivation and access to the machinery you can craft a billet one like this one I use:

Back View;



It starts out as a 55 lb round of aluminum and ends up around 8 or 9 lbs if I remember correctly. You
basically throw away a lot of aluminum but you can make it any way you wish for your application.

If you go the billet route you need to use a diff cooler because the aluminum mass retains a lot of the
heat from the gear lube. An alternative might be to build it with fins for cooling. I liked the billet
appearance. More than anything else it comes down to personal preference. This one is drilled for the
oil cooler in and oil cooler out plumbing.

Here is a view of the inside;



The Explorer 8.8 IRS appears more robust than the equivalent automobile IRS center. The front ears
definitely are and other parts appear beefier also. The unit is about $350 new from Ford if I
remember correctly.


Ed


p.s. Use the Mark Williams, Ford 8.8 Billet Steel caps instead of the wimpy cast aluminum caps Ford
provides. ARP has a set of 1/2 inch studs for the 9" Ford that will work with the 8.8 center. If I
remember correctly, you will have to slightly cut down the OD on the 12 pt nuts to fit in the MW caps.

[Joe's Garage]

Originally Posted by eschaider

Joe,

You might want to consider a 2007 - 2010 Explorer IRS center from Ford. They are decidedly more
robust and also have improved front mounts that you can see in the pics below: ...

Great information Ed! Would that be a drop-in alternative to the M-4010-G3? I am definitely going to check that out.
You don't happen to have a part number or link to get looking in the right place do you?

[eschaider]

I don't have it right off the top of my head Joe (did I guess right?) but I will dig one up for you.

The IRS pinion mounts, while in the same general location require mods to the chassis if it was set up for a passenger car IRS. Other than that it's basically a bolt-in (is there such a thing?) upgrade.

The MW carrier caps are really worth their weight in gold and they are cheap ~$65 each if I remember correctly.

Ed

[Joe's Garage]

Originally Posted by eschaider

I don't have it right off the top of my head Joe (did I guess right?) but I will dig one up for you.

The IRS pinion mounts, while in the same general location require mods to the chassis if it was set up for a passenger car IRS. Other than that it's basically a bolt-in (is there such a thing?) upgrade.

The MW carrier caps are really worth their weight in gold and they are cheap ~$65 each if I remember correctly.

Ed

Close enough on the name and if you can dig that PN up it would be a big help. Getting the pinion mounts to work can be figured out.

BTW, now that you have some miles on that Wavetrac, how do you like it? That's another option I'm considering, the mfg. description is impressive but real world experience from owners trumps anything I may read.

[eschaider]

When you drive with a spool it is very obvious and noticeable on turns. When you drive with a posi unit it has a limited slip which makes turns much nicer than a spool and we tend to get used to that as the "right" feel.

When you drive with a Wavetrac, they only way I can describe it is the differentiation wheel to wheel is absolutely invisible to the driver. It feels even better than an open rear end because of the continuous torque re-biasing based on the road surface conditions under each tire.

The effect in the driver's seat is a sense of very complete control and predictability. As you probably have already guessed, I am a pretty big Wavetrac fan.


Ed

[eschaider]

Here ya go Joe;

[Joe's Garage]

Thanks Ed, from my "googling" it looks like Ford switched from a dual front mount in 2006 to a single mount like what is shown in the rendering (8L2Z4010A). I'll see if I can find that earlier part number.

Update -
... even the earlier 2002-2005 axles (5L2Z4010BA) show the single mount so I think maybe the source info. (not you Ed) is incorrect on what axle housing that is. I believe the info you posted came from here -
http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=15911.0
"We use a donor rear end from a 2007-2010 Ford Explorer (some 06's work but it appears that there may be a half model year split, you want dual front mounts)"

Turns out the above may not be true.

The Wavetrac sounds pretty good, I think I'm going to do it

[eschaider]

Ronin Speed works is where I found out about the Explorer center section. As I understand it (but have no way to verify) the change year was 2007. The reason I used the 2009 year info for you was the predisposition for a manufacturer to make a running change and then have it occur during the production year leaving one set of vehicles with one part and everything after that date with the new part. The 2009 production year was deep enough into the run there should have been no chance of a transition year type miscue.

I went back into the Ford parts catalog and discovered the 2006 to 2010 IRS centers for the Explorers are supposed to all be the same. I also discovered the 2007 and earlier housings are being shown as discontinued by Ford similar to the experience you had with the FRPP part. The link below goes to the Auto Nation Parts page for 2007 Explorer.

AXLE HOUSING for 2007 Ford Explorer|7L2Z4010A

Beginning with model year 2008 and later the page pops up showing the part under a new number but still available. For each new year Ford appears to change the first four characters of the number. The link below goes to the Auto Nation Parts page for the 2009 Explorer.

AXLE HOUSING for 2009 Ford Explorer|8L2Z-4010-A.

The last model year they currently show availability for is the 2008 model year. I have a friend who works for TASCA Ford in their FRPP parts operation who has saved my bacon on multiple occasions. His name is Steve and his work phone is (401) 709-7845. Ask for him by name. Tell him tell him I sent you if you want and explain the part you are trying to find.

He will check to be sure it is what you are describing and you will get a very competitive price. Steve used to run the FRPP parts operation at White Bear before AutoNation bought them. Now he is at TASCA.

For everyone else reading this, Steve can find special parts and save you money on them. He is worth a call for the big parts like this. He is doing all of us a favor so please don't weigh him down with small parts questions and requests.


Ed

[Joe's Garage]

Thanks Ed, even though it is Saturday I called (800) 328-9552, someone picked up and I asked for Steve - I was told he hasn't worked there for two years. Could that be the old number when he was at FRPP parts operation at White Bear?

I have yet to find any Ford Explorer IRS housing with the dual front mounts, all pics and drawings show only the single mount, too bad that article didn't give a PN.

[LMH]

The differential housing in your first posting is from the 2003-2004 Mustang Cobra but with a rear girdle cover added. It's what I have in my Hurricane. Fairly common on eBay.
Make sure you get one with the CV joints as they are 31 spline, not the more common 28 spline.
Larry

[eschaider]

Originally Posted by Joe's Garage

Thanks Ed, even though it is Saturday I called (800) 328-9552, someone picked up and I asked for Steve - I was told he hasn't worked there for two years. Could that be the old number when he was at FRPP parts operation at White Bear?

I have yet to find any Ford Explorer IRS housing with the dual front mounts, all pics and drawings show only the single mount, too bad that article didn't give a PN.

Apologies Joe, cut and pasted an old number out of my contact list. Use this one instead => (401) 709-7845

Ed

[Joe's Garage]

Originally Posted by LMH

The differential housing in your first posting is from the 2003-2004 Mustang Cobra but with a rear girdle cover added. It's what I have in my Hurricane. Fairly common on eBay.
Make sure you get one with the CV joints as they are 31 spline, not the more common 28 spline.
Larry

Agreed, the M-4010-G3 was an FFRP upgrade to the M-4010-A88 for the '03-'04 Cobra Mustang, a beefier housing. I'm just looking for the differential carrier only, not an entire rear end (half-shafts, CV joints, gears etc.). eBay has used stuff in the way of housings w/gears & diff, and some rear covers that are new (3rd party suppliers like LPW). Bottom line is there isn't any left-over inventory of the M-4010-G3 in the country, a couple of FFRP distributors were kind enough to do a nation-wide search and came up with nada.

[Joe's Garage]

Originally Posted by eschaider

Apologies Joe, cut and pasted an old number out of my contact list. Use this one instead => (401) 709-7845

Ed

Thank you Ed, much appreciated!

[Joe's Garage]

I would like to echo what Ed said about Steve, a great guy to do business with and he knows his parts. He confirmed the dual front mounts on the Ford Explorer 8.8 IRS Housing (with pics) and then made it easy to order. Quick to respond to questions, and always ready to help solve your problem. I recommend Steve highly, a great resource to have at your finger tips for this hobby.

For those interested -
Steve Powell
Tasca Automotive Group
spowell@tasca.com
1-800-598-1484

[eschaider]

Steve is a great resource Joe. He has always come through for me and at very competitive prices. His familiarity with the FRPP parts offerings is excellent. A real pleasure to work with.


Ed