Anybody happen to know how much input torque the Timken 2-speed rears (1953 vintage) can handle? The Chevy truck specs give input torque capacity for trannies, but not the rears. I'm looking into swapping in an engine that would have at least 2.5 times the torque of the original.
What is the weak point in these rears? All the gears seem really beefy, but the spurs on the reduction pinions and the corresponding shifter sleeve don't seem too great. Mine has lots of slop in that area (about 1/10 of a driveshaft rotation). That's to be expected, I guess, given its age. But the ring gear key seems like it could be the weakest part. I'd think splines would have been better.
I'm also a little worried about my rearend (well..not so much mine, but my truck's
) because when I drained the gear oil to remove the cover to check things out, it only contained about a third of the quantity that was supposed to be in it (some of which ended up all over the brakes). I have no idea how long it may have been driven with low oil.
