Posted by Rob Steller on Friday, July 12, 2002 at 0:11AM :
In Reply to: w100 axle ( what did it come with, what gears avail.? posted by jason lewis on Thursday, July 11, 2002 at 8:42PM :
My 58 Dodge service manual indicates that the W100 had a dana 44 front axel, so you might be able to find a tag with ratio under one of the cover bolts on the front axel. This presumes that the front and rear match! I'd expect 4.11 or 4.89. You can also jack one wheel up, and turn the driveshaft, and count the rotations to get one turn of the rear wheel. If it takes about 2 turns, you have a 4.11. If it takes about 2 1/2 turns, you have a 4.89. You have to multiply the shaft rotation by 2 because of the action of the differential. If both wheels are off the ground, and turn equally (don't bet on this), the driveshaft rotation count is the axle ratio. The manual says that the W100 had a 3600 lb corporate 8 3/4" semi-floating rear axel (same as the D100, but with a 6 lug wheel, not 5 lug). I don't know if this is the older version with the big nut in the center, or not. If it is, I think that heat and penetrating oil are the deal to get it off. Good luck! Rob