Rear axle disassembly

[dgrinnan]

I have a 47 Dodge 1/2 ton WC.  On a modern differential you pull the cover plate, un-bolt and pull a pin and remove a u clip in order to pull the axle out.  In the 47 there is no cover plate.  You need to remove the drive shaft and and pull the entire gear assembly out the front to work on it.  How do you pull the axle out in order to remove the gear assembly?  Does the brake backing plate hold the axle in?

Edited May 11, 2023 by dgrinnan

[LazyK]

1 minute ago, dgrinnan said:

I have a 47 Dodge 1/2 ton WC.  On a modern differential you pull the cover plate, un-bolt and pull a pin and remove a u clip in order to pull the axle out.  In the 47 there is no cover plate.  You need to drove the drive shaft and and pull the entire gear assembly out the front to work on it.  How do you pull the axle out in order to remove the gear assembly?  Does the brake backing plate hold the axle in?

Simple answer yes the axles are held in by the backing plates

[dgrinnan]

Simple enough.  Thanks.

[kencombs]

These and the famous Ford 8 and 9 inch are much superior, IMHO, to the 'modern' ones.  At least from a mechanics perspective as adjusting bearings is a snap compared to case spreaders and shims on the 'modern' versions.  Also, setting up gear depth and backlash is a bench job, not an under the car process.   I knew a lot of guys back in the day that had a weekend center section and a weekday version.   4.11s or 4.56s at the strip and 3.08 or 3.23 for the highway.   Most could swap in 30-40 minutes.

 

More common repair for me was axle bearings.  No draining lube to pull the axles.  4 bolts, pop it out, press bearing done. 

 

 

 

 

[dgrinnan]

I created a video to document removal of the rear differential for the 1939-1947 WC 1/2 ton.

 

https://youtu.be/7B4H7PTLuWc