The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Tons 'o Fun rear axel

looking for a new axel and differential for my 71 1 ton.Will an axel from a 47 3100 be a replacement. My 71 is a 10 bolt and the 47 is a 12 bolt. Any help appreciated.

Hy retcon, welcome, a 1947 3100 is a half ton torque tube type rear axle, too light for a one ton to begin with, and a major re-engineering project to install in a 1971 truck. What is wrong with your existing rear axle?

Thanks for info. My problem is differential. Had it rebuilt with all new bearings and it still howls.

Take it back and ask them to do it correctly.

14 bolt FF GM axles are plentiful, inexpensive, lots of modern ratios, posi if that would be an option.

Hy retcon, did a reputable shop rebuild the differential, or did a backyarder do it? A lot of noise can be lessened or eliminated by the proper setup of the contact pattern between the ring and pinion gears and setting the proper backlash. If your original gears have a lot of miles on them they probably have wear patterns in them, when setting up used gears you have to be careful not to set them highpoint to highpoint, sometimes a little more backlash can help avoid this. If a shop did the work, then I would take it back to them and ask what they think is causing the rear axle to howl. It may be the case that a new ring and pinion gear are required, this may be the cheapest way to resolve the problem, you've already shelled out for new bearings which should be re-useable. The other alternative would be a whole rear axle swap using a wrecking yard rear axle, hope that helps.

Thanks again, I am going to take it back to the shop to see what can be done.

I have always wondered about this problem. How do you set a gear set back together that has been used and has some wear? Should the original clearance be measured and then duplicated even if it different from the shop spec? Can the contact points be matched to the wear pattern using the test paint?

Hy Truckernix, the contact pattern is the main thing when setting up used gears, you will probably have to open up the backlash setting in order to achieve the correct pattern, hope that helps.

I have never worked on setting one up but I like to understand how they are done. Thanks for your reply.

I'm about to swap a third member out of my 49 one ton. Would be the same housing, but would be a 5.16:1 gear ratio and a pretty expensive piece to ship. It's getting replaced with a third member from a 71.

All 3/4 and 1 ton rear ends from 46 to 72 are he same housing and third members are easily interchangeable.

I have a '53 Chevy one ton pickup. Had it for 29 years. There are no shock absorbers on the rear and as I am getting older, the rigid bouncing around is no so much fun anymore. An old '47- '52 shop manual that i have says the 1 ton did not originally have shocks but it could be added on. I don't see any holes or brackets that I could fit shocks into. I have searched the internet until I am blind, called Chevy parts dealership, called many old Chevy parts houses - nothing. Do you know how I can get brackets and shocks on my old beast?

Matamoros, that's a great question. You should post it as a new topic/separate thread so other's will be able to see it and answer.

Where is Cletus? This is an excellent question from a new Bolter and needs to be transferred to a new post.

You can do it as easy as Cletis can. Just start a new thread and re ask the question. And thanks for using stovebolt.com!