1938 1.5 ton mine will run 55 but is much happier at 45, keep in mind truck speed limits were lower back then. From the service manual 5.43 to 1 rear axle ratio may be identified by a 2 or 3 letter prefix beginning with T stamped in front of the serial number on the top right hand side of the differential housing the 6.16 to 1 ratio has a H stamped in the same position. Lock ring wheels can have a solid ring, Split ring or a solid ring with a second split ring. Read wheel post at top of page. Your truck would have had 20" tires new. There could be a variety of 20" tires depending on what the buyer wanted. 1.5 ton covered several versions. 131" and 157" were the wheelbases available. Either could be ordered with or without helper springs which would change the version of 20" tires required to meet capacity limits. The original 216 would not have a rear main seal. It relies on a slinger and a rear main bearing cap drilled to allow oil to drain back into crankcase to minimize leaks. It is not completely successful. Brakes are fairly simple, as others have pointed out it is a single reservoir system have a leak and you may lose all brakes. To replace shoes or cylinders requires removal of hub, bearings and drums as a unit unlike modern versions where you just pop the drums off. Emergency brakes to the rear axle, you have rods going to the back, they join metal sheathed cables which in turn move the mechanical blocks to move the shoes. those cables have a tendency to freeze in the metal sheaths. After market replacements are available. If it has the original torque tube driveline instead of a open drive shaft there are seals or packing in the torque tube which can fail allowing gear oil in transmission to leak thru to the rear end. suggest you pick up a service manual and look it over. Good luck with your project.
Last edited by kb3csw; 11/08/2020 2:15 AM. Reason: corrected information
