Wanted: Axle parts

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by AustinM

did all of the axles have the samegearing ratio? and if i were to buy a new axle assembly would i be able to get anything for the one i have?

As Bob says there were two sizes of front axle: heavy (60 cwt) and light (15 cwt).

The heavy axle had 6" steering ends, and 43 tooth crown wheel for use with 20" wheels.

The light axle had 4 7/8" steering ends, and 39 tooth crown wheel for use with 16" wheels.

Both diffs had the same 6 tooth pinion, and the crown wheels are interchangeable.

Your's is the light axle, which means it will have 6/39 diffs. If you can only find a heavy axle you can still use it, but you'll have to split the diff housing and swap the crown wheel. It's probably best to swap the pinion as well, because the teeth mate with the crown wheel through years of wear. You may even have to re-shim it in the new diff housing.

It's a lot of extra work, when all you really need is to replace one CV joint. And within a week of doing all this extra work, the correct part will suddenly turn up!