The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 3/4 ton torque tube?

I have a 52 3/4 ton that I am going to use as a parts truck. It was upgraded to a 235 at some point and it has the 4 speed on the floor. The thing that surprised me is that it has a open drive line! Didn't the 3600 come with the torque tube as well? If it did then what kind of transmission do I have? The gear shifter looks totally stock and so does the rear end. Maybe I'm crazy but this seems pretty weird to me.

The 3600 trucks had a two piece drive shaft. The front half was a closed tube like the 1/2 tons, the back half was open drive line to the rear end.I also have a 52 3/4 ton. Hope this helps.

Oh well, I was excited because I wanted to use the four speed in my 51 half ton and I thought I had a open drive line. I guess that ruins that idea.

Nope, just take the extension off the 3/4 ton tranmission and the torque tube on the half ton will bolt up.

The 3/4 ton torque tubes use a larger u-joint and yokes which will not mate with the 1/2 ton torque tube. You will need to find a transmission yoke from a 1/2 ton which had a four speed.

I'd find a differential from a later model with an open drive line and switch it over.

I just noticed on my daughter's '53 Suburban also has an open drive line with a short piece about 8" up front that slips in the transmission. I thought it may have been an after market modification so it could us an open drive shaft. So I take it that this is a stock drive shaft? Hum..interesting.

I'm sorry, what I meant was that I wanted to go to an open drive line and I thought the 3/4 ton transmission would work because I thought it was an open drive line set up. From reading basically all of the archives on this site, I have come to the conclusion that the easist way to go to an open drive line on my 51 half ton is to find a 55-62 transmission. Is this correct? I want to use a four speed with the granny first gear because I want to make this truck my daily driver and I may want to pull a boat or something with it one day. Even if I never pull anything I can use it start off on the side of a hill and what not, and save some stress on the clutch and the motor. So if I have my transmission needs figured out then the next step will be deciding on the rear end. I saw somewhere in the archives that some think that a 3.08 ratio is the best, while most of what I see refer to 3.55 as being the best option. I would think I could get away with the 3.08, especially with the four speed. What do some of you guys think? Thanks!

Well, you *could* do what the 3/4 guys do: use the closed driveline, with the intermediate U-joint, and an open driveline to the rear axle. You'd have to install the cross member, liek the 3/4, but hey! it'll make the frame stronger.

George

I have 3.08 gears in the rear of my '55 1st 1/2-ton Suburban. I have a GMC 270 and a granny-gear 4-speed. It's great for light-duty work and will run down the highway at 70+ real nice, but its not so good with a trailer.

I borrowed a friends implement trailer a while back to haul another truck, and empty it was enough load that I decided to use my V-8 powered truck instead. This is a heavy trailer, but empty it would not weigh what a loaded boat trailer would be, or what a lighter trailer with a car on it would weigh.