Susan,
The opposite of the open drive line is, of course, the closed drive
line. The drive shaft, per say, was encases in a tube called the torque
tube, that protected the moving components from various obstructions that
could wrap around the rotating drive shaft in a farm working environment.
The tube was problematic as if the seals started leaking--tranny fluid
would leak into it. The open line has no such beast so you see the rotating
drive shaft and the connecting u-joints. Vendors make gear sets, kinda
pricey, to get you down to a respectable gear ratio, but along with this,
best to redo all the bearing, axles and spiders gears bearings in the
differential to make for a complete rebuild. The gear set they sell is
3.55:1 ratio and helps tremendously. When you factor in all the prices for
this, you looking at over 500 bucks to rebuilt and get the betters gears in
there. This is why most folks purchase later model rear ends with better
gears for highway travels at local pick-n-pull yards, you can pick up rear
ends for a couple hundred bucks, but make sure all is well with it. Have to
measure the width to get correct replacement, but most go this route. The
original purist of course wont' have this, and I respect individual choices
as why vendors sells these gear sets.
--wayne
At 01:36 PM 6/4/03 -0400, BLUCHEETAH@aol.com wrote:
>Hi guys,
>I'm looking at my '53 Chevy 3100 and underneath I have an open drive line. I
>think that's what it's called when the pumpkin has removable differential
>covers on both sides. Since it is open like this, is it still necessary to
>replace
>the whole rear end when you regear it to go at faster speeds? I'm really,
>really hoping you will tell me it isn't necessary!!!
>Susan B.
>oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
Wayne Osborne
http://www.chevytrucks.org
http://www.chevytrucks.org/wayne
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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