Shipped in RTS Plastic Storage Case

RTS Center Sections are assembled by Professionals. Ford 9-inch third members are built from quality components with an exact step-by-step process. We bring this combination of precision assembly and quality components to you at a price that can’t be beat. We trust these third members so much, they’re the go-to choice for our own rides, from the street to the track. 

Tough, Nodular Iron Center Section

Our Ford 9 Inch Nodular Iron Third Member Center Section Carrier starts with a NEW casting with over 4 lbs. of additional material in critical areas. Nodular (ductile) iron is much more resistant to fracturing than OEM “gray” iron or painted black after assembled. Extra ribbing reinforces the case and rearmost pinion support (pilot bearing). 

Thick, forged steel bearing caps surround the carrier bearings, all securely held in place with precision Grade 8 cap screws. The improvements continue with rugged billet steel adjuster nuts and heavy-duty keepers to ensure your ring gear settings are maintained. All mounting surfaces are precision machined to ensure a consistent, flat surface for a positive gasket seal (no more leaks on your shop floor). An oil fill plug is included. 

Precision Assembled for Proper Ring Gear Teeth Pattern

Getting a proper pattern on the ring gear teeth is crucial. Our time-proven, step-by-step process ensures the correct backlash, preload, and proper amount of pinion shims to ensure the correct pattern on the ring gear teeth. Our gears use use cold-rolled 8620 steel, known for its long-wear and durability.

To ensure a proper gear pattern, we use our stronger Billet Aluminium Daytona” style pinion bearing support to maintain that critical pinion depth setting. Stronger due to its larger bearings, our Daytona pinion support also uses the spacer-and-shim setup to maintain critical pinion depth settings under high load, unlike traditional crush sleeves which often compress further, take out your preload and lead to failure. With solid bearing spacers and the proper shims, we eliminate this problem and make setting preload easy and repeatable during installation, service and gear changes. Since preload is already set, simply torque the pinion nut to 160 ft./lbs. and you’re good to go. The pinion gear is connected to our new, forged steel 1350 pinion yoke. 

RTS True Grip PRO

The RTS True Grip PRO is a gear driven limited slip differential designed to be among the strongest and most durable in the industry. It combines the smooth operation of a limited-slip differential, with the strength of a fully-machined, forged steel case. Using 3x2 spiral gear technology, the RTS True Grip Pro delivers progressive and variable traction. Based off of throttle input, you are in control of how much traction is applied, which is great for situations where finesse is as important as extreme traction. On the road, in rain and snow, and on the track, True Grip Pro is a winner!

• Comes Fully Assembled
• Delivers Progressive and Variable Traction
• Allows You to Control How Much Traction is Applied
• Uses 3x2 Spiral Gear Technology
• Housed in a Fully Machined, Forged Steel Case

Proven Reliability

Our third member units are the go-to choice for our own rides and we have built these units to last with high quality hardware and components. Tapered steel roller bearings minimize friction, better handle thrust loads and increase load carrying capacity. The ring gears are assembled with Grade 9 bolts with a tensile strength of 180,000 psi, a 15% increase over Grade 8 hardware.  Heavy duty Grade 8 carrier cap bolts, a lock-style pinion nut with pre-applied Loctite and high-quality grade 5 pinion support bolts make our third member near-bulletproof. 

Our hand-assembled Ford 9 inch third member assemblies are made-to-order. We keep a supply of the most popular gears in stock, with most units built within 2-3 days.

Features

• Hand-assembled for an unbeatable combination of quality and value
• Precision assembly for the correct backlash, preload, and proper amount of pinion shims to ensure the correct pattern on the ring gear teeth 
• Ring and pinion gears of 8620 cold-rolled steel for long wear which include brands like Motive or Richmond
• Nodular iron housing is stronger than OEM “gray” iron and has 4 lbs of additional reinforcement
• Large bearing “Daytona” style pinion bearing supports for strength and reliability
• Spacer and shim setup maintains critical pinion depth settings and easier to service than traditional crush sleeves
• True Grip Pro LSD Traction System
• Ring gears assembled with Grade 9 hardware, 15% stronger in tensile strength than Grade 8
• Grade 8 Carrier cap bolts
• Lock-style pinion nut with pre-applied Loctite®
• Grade 5 pinion support bolts