The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk I have grease in my rearend???

Hey, new to the page, looking for some help. I just got a 65 1/2 ton (1/4 ton?) stepside with a 250-6 and 4-speed and 4.10 rearend. A BIT low geared for my tastes... actually, a lot low geared for my taste. Anyone have any info on what ratio in the rear I should go to for some speed / mileage? Now, I'm running 2,400 rpm at 50 mph. I'd LIKE to be running 2,400 rpm at 65 mph. Surely someone else out there has done all this. HELP! Thanks! randy

I am running a 250 and turbo 350 automatic with a 3.08 gear. 70 mph at 2400 2500 rpm. Truck weight is around 3400lbs. You should be able to get by with a 3.55 or 3.73 pretty easy. Joe

3.73 was the standard rear for these trucks, should be an easy find. Brian

A guy told me once he preferred to put hamburger in his rearend instead of grease.. sounded like a good way to attract flies.

Hamburger... hmmmmm... I think he told you he had put a hamburger in between some BUNS! Obviously there was some confusion! (...and undoubtedly some embarassment at HIS barbeque I might add!!!). Fumblin', how close are you to Chadron?

is this an attempt to quiet down the rear end or is it normal to use grease in the pumpkin?
mine has 90w in it.

So does mine.

i've heard of sawdust in the rear end to make it tighter and quieter, but hadn't heard of grease. someone who knows better than i, could you please let us know of a valid reason for using grease in the rear diff cause i'd sure be interested to know?
and, does it work? i know it wouldn't work in the tranny cause of the bearings. not sure if it's a good idea in the rear end though.
thanks

I think Randy was just referring to 'feels like' for a post title, if you read his question

best I heard of was oatmeal to quieten gears down ,,,, just before the prospective purchaser comes for a test drive!

Bill

Nope, not generally a good idea to put grease in the differential. Although I've taken some apart that the oil had turned to grease--burnt grease at that! One of the reasons it doesn't work is that the gear lube also needs to cool the gears--which is another function of both engine oil and transmission oil/fluid. Grease doesn't allow the gears and other parts inside the diff the chance to cool down as it moves around.

the grease will plug up the seals if leaking we used to do it with outboard motors to seal up lower ends and to keep the water out

Hey, thanks everyone! No, I don't REALLY have grease in my rearend (that was just a quip to get attention, sorry for the mis-direction there!) You've been a help and now I'll be searching every old chevy / gmc trailer and doner truck to find a 3.08 or 3.55 third member for my '65. I've heard from a friend that if my search is fruitless, I have options of installing a ring and pinion, or that there's a kit available to install a newer rearend, but I know that the 'set up fee' for those are costly, so for now, I'll just have to drive slower when I'm heading out to my favorite huntin' spot...

google up

http://www.smokemup.com/auto_math/index.php

go to gearing and plug in your details. if you are planning on a different differential check this site. keep in mind if you change trannys your overall speed will too.
gooday
jim

Not that I'd ever use it in a high speed gearbox like a trans or rear axle but, cornhead grease works great in a manual steering gearbox. The grease has the thickness of honey and is less likely to run past a leaky seal. The steering gears work like silk if the bearings and bushings are good.

If this is a 1/2 ton (six lug), there are definately 3.08 gears available for it. I've got a 3.08 rearend out of a half ton sitting in my garage waiting to go into my '50. You can just change the ring and pinion in these, but the gears will need to be re-shimmed. They are out there, I got mine for $100. Keep looking.