Posted by Greg Coffin [4.225.214.207] on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 at 11:51:53 :
In Reply to: doubble diff gasket posted by JD [174.59.165.52] on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 at 06:47:04 :
The PWs, M37s, and WC 6x6s all had 9 5/8" third members, so they only need one gasket (0.036") when installing a 9 5/8" third member. All the later 3/4 ton WCs used the 9 5/8" third members, and use only one gasket when installing a 9 5/8" third member.
If your PW had a 8 3/4" third member in it, it was probably stressing the axle shafts, and two gaskets was only making it worse, unless the axle housing was milled down 1/16". It probably wasn't milled, but it wouldn't hurt to check the overall thickness of the housing. As Paul said, the 9 5/8" third member is 1/16" longer from the mounting face to the centerline of the axle shaft. Putting a 9 5/8" in an 8 3/4" axle housing (as found in 1/2 ton or early 3/4 ton WCs) requires you to shim out the third member with 2-3 gaskets. Installing an 8 3/4" third member in a later WC or PW axle housing requires you to push the third member INTO the housing 1/16".
HTH
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