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Posted by Keith in Washington on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 14:20:01 :
In Reply to: Centered Rear Axle from a 1942 WC posted by RSBuc in Toronto on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 10:04:42 :
Your axle look like a later axle that was swapped into an earlier truck. It appears that the diff cover is welded on. The early ones had a bolt on cover. Either will work just fine. Some early ones were converted by the military. Be sure to look to see if a ring was welded on where the diff bolts on. There should be a tag welded on stating only 1 gasket is needed if has been converted.
As someone else said the 9 5/8 differential would be better and be stronger than the smaller 8 3/4" one. However, either will work as long as you have the same gear ratio. I have a small differential in the front axle of my Carryall which is not unusual. It also has a welded on rear cover which indicates that it may have been replaced.
Note that Dave's site shows drilling out an early axle housing to allow for the larger studs that the 9 5/8" diff uses. You may not need to do this if you have a later axle housing that was designed for the 9 5/8" diff.
You can also avoid doing this drilling if you do one of the following. 1) get studs that are 3/8" on one end and 7/16" on the other (be prepared to look long and hard and open your wallet wide). 2) I have seen thin steel sleeves placed over the smaller studs to make up for the diameter difference in the studs. I believe it should be ok as they will help to align the diff and the 3/8" studs are still sufficiently strong to hold the diff in place.
The U joint yoke that you need for the ebrake drum is also difficult to find. So be prepared to spend some time looking.
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