Posted by Clint Dixon on Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 7:06AM :
In Reply to: Numerically posted by chewie on Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 1:36AM :
When you find a minor difference in the ratios between the front and rear differentials, it is typically because the truck uses a corporate axle at one end and a Dana/Spicer or other axle at the other end. Ford and Chevy were good at doing this. They commonly used their corporate axle in the rear and a Spicer in the front. Usually their corporate was larger and stronger than the front, hence the larger pinion resulting in a slightly different ratio. The belief was that the rear was getting used all of the time so it needed to be stronger than the front which only got used when the vehicle was being driven in four wheel drive.
Our 1-ton Power-Wagons and Dodge Military trucks use the good old Dodge corporate axle both in the front and rear so the differentials are the same and interchangeable. The newer W-series uses Spicer axles front and rear, and even though the front may be lighter duty than the rear (W100 & W200) they are both Spicer so the ratios match.
Clint
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