1940 Sedan Axle Length

C

C1Nelson

Member
I have a 1940 Ford Sedan. I recently broke the passenger side rear axle. It looks like it has been cracked for a long time.

I found an axle and I was told it is a 16 tooth 32.85" length axle.

When we pulled the original axle out of the differential and compared it to the new axle, the new axle is almost a full inch + longer than the axle that was in the car.

Everything on the web indicates the 32.85" length is correct.

Any thoughts? Appreciate the help.
 
C1Nelson said:
I have a 1940 Ford Sedan. I recently broke the passenger side rear axle. It looks like it has been cracked for a long time.

I found an axle and I was told it is a 16 tooth 32.85" length axle.

When we pulled the original axle out of the differential and compared it to the new axle, the new axle is almost a full inch + longer than the axle that was in the car.

Everything on the web indicates the 32.85" length is correct.

Any thoughts? Appreciate the help.
Click to expand...
Yep, a thought...
The "new" axle is for '41 - '48. A lot of guys don't add in the gear when measuring. "Overall" length is just that, OVERALL.
That 31.85" is correct for your '40 Ford.
I may have axles if desired...
 
1941 still had the narrow axle assembly with the double barrel spring hangers. 1942 thru 1948 were the wider ones for sure. Keep looking for a narrow one with the 16 tooth side gear P/N 81A-4235 at 32.85". The P/N 21A-4235 from 42 thru 48 is 33.70" long. The P/N 48-4235 from 35 thru 37 has 18 tooth side gears so it won't work. Unless someone back in the day decided to install a later axle in your car, it should have the shorter axle shafts.
 
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Rotorwrench is correct on the lengths and years. Here's a link that will confirm:

http://www.flatheadv8.org/fordrear.htm

32.85" axles can have either 16 or 18 teeth, either may be used from '35 to '41, but in pairs using the appropriate spider gear.


Oops... Rotorwrench years not quite accurate: '35 thru'38 had 18 teeth.
 
It went part way into 1938 like a lot of other Ford things so we are both correct to a point. The parts books don't always show that.
 
Kobe, I know this is an old post but was wondering if you had a good set of 40 axles for sale 16 tooth spider gears ,have a set of 18 tooth am going to use if I don’t find the 16s soon . Thank you , Dennis
 
Dennis, the most important feature of any axle set is the condition of the keyways, in that even the smallest of cracks adjacent to the inboard end of the keyway indicates an unusable axle. If you have a set of 18 tooth axles with the spider to match, in which you find no evidence of cracks, that's as good as it gets, there being no practical difference between 16 and 18 tooth sets.
 
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1932-1948 Ford Rear Axle Lengths
 
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