axle ratios

[55 willys]

my front axle has a casting mark 25. the rear axle has a casting mark 44. the rear axle is offset from center toward the right. first thought was the rear was a front axle, but there is a drain plug on the bottom of the third member and as I see it the plug would be up top and offset to the left if it was a front axle . enough hot air, is rear axle original? is there a difference in gear ratios between the front and rear

 

[wally72]

my front axle has a casting mark 25. the rear axle has a casting mark 44. the rear axle is offset from center toward the right. first thought was the rear was a front axle, but there is a drain plug on the bottom of the third member and as I see it the plug would be up top and offset to the left if it was a front axle . enough hot air, is rear axle original? is there a difference in gear ratios between the front and rear

the Dana 25 front and Dana 44 rear is pretty much the norm for the '55 truck and wagon, some had the Timken rear axle. The front and rear axle ratios must necessarily be the same. There should be a tag under one of the screw heads holding the differential cover on. The tag will be stamped with the gear ratio, sometimes in the form of the tooth count for the ring and pinion and/or the numerical ratio. Most of the mid 50's trucks had 5.38 ratio, some 4.88.

 

[aquawilly54]

Hi guys. Yup, those are correct. Mine is a 54 with 4.88 gears, but I also have an overdrive which makes things nice. Hopefully I'll have it back on the road in a few months so I can enjoy it again.
Your rear end (on the vehicle) :lol: is offset to the right to keep the drive line straight. Crawl under there and you'll see that the driveline is on the right hand side of the xfer case. Same for the front. You'll see that everything is in line.
Steve