Differential swap

[shopin]

The pictured differential was on a 1949 Dodge half-ton pickup I recently purchased.  I finally confirmed that it is from a 1954 Packard Clipper.  The cost to refurbish the unit is beyond my budget so I need to purchase a more modern diff. Please let me know of a good swap for this truck. I suspect I would prefer an axle with drum brakes [but open to other suggestion].  I anticipate the truck will largely be used 'in-town' and will rarely be driven over 60 MPH.

Thaks  

[Los_Control]

Howdy, a jeep cherokee or a Ford explorer is the correct width and have the 5 on 4.5" bolt pattern to use the stock wheels. Readily available in wrecking yards.

They come in a variety of gear choices ...... 3:73 seems to be the sweet spot for a stock engine/transmission.

While others claim a 3:55 works great ..... they usually have some high performance mods or maybe a T-5 transmission swap also .... 3:73 is a very safe choice if you have some hills in your normal driving. .... Or of course a 4.10 gear like the original will work fine.

 

You will need to cut off the spring perches and weld on new ones to match your factory springs. Not to bad of a job if you have a welder .... you do want to set the pinion angle also while at it.

Also you may need to modify the u-joints on your drive line .... original would have had Cleveland u-joints .... your photo is a standard u-joint .... I assume your drive line already has been modified.

Over all it is not a difficult swap and done a million times.

 

Check the years on the donor vehicles, older ones will have drum brakes while newer have gone to disk brake rear end. .... Choose what you want.

Also a good idea if you can grab all the E-brake cables & brackets you can from the donor vehicle, can modify and connect to your e-brake handle ....  If you do a transmission swap down the road, you will need these parts to get a working e-brake ..... thinking ahead can save future headaches.

[shopin]

Hi Los_Control and thank you for your response.  It was just the information I needed.  

[PT81PlymouthPickup]

I concur! 3:73 ratio is the way to go. The 4:10 was not great for speeds over 50 in my opinion.

[Tooljunkie]

I used a mid 70’s dodge 1/2 ton rear. 8-3/8 ring gear. Put in 3.55 gears. Im running 265’s on the back and with the automatic im right around 2,000 rpms at 60 mph. 
needed to use new perches, i made mine using square tubing and a hole saw. 

Edited December 11, 2023 by Tooljunkie