stock rear end

32Gnu

32Gnu

Senior Member
Is there a way to tell what gears are in my 32's rear end without pulling it apart? It looks like a stock rear style, but it has been painted red so I have no idea what year it might be...

Thanks
 
There are numbers on the bottom of the center rib under the center housing. Devide the smaller into the larger. If it has not been changed, that is the ratio. If the rear is out, clamp one axle/wheel and turn the driveshaft untill the free wheel makes TWO turns, That is the ratio.
 
I don't know what other people do but if I rebuilt a rear end I would change to 3.54 gears and probably not restamp the rear end.

Charlie Stephens
 
Richard,

Please excuse my ignorance but.. what is the drive turtle? and is it on the rear end?
 
Spin the driveshaft and count how many driveshaft revolutions equal one hub revolution. Answer the question: How many into one?
 
32Gnu said:
Richard,

Please excuse my ignorance but.. what is the drive turtle? and is it on the rear end?
Click to expand...

In layman terms, the drive turtle its a circular bubble on the front portion of the torque tube (or on the tail of the ****** mount, depending on the year) that houses the speedo gears. Usually, certain gears match certain rear end ratios so your speedo reads right.

The lower center "rib" of the rear usually is the best way to tell the gears as more than likely the gears have not been removed/swapped out. If you are underneath trying to read it, scrape gently with a pocket knife and then maybe swipe with some water lightly to reveal the numbers. Rust will take its toll and some may be pretty hard to read.

Good luck and let us know what you find out!
 
A "19" turtle goes with a 3.78 rear, which (along with 4.11's) are pretty common in 1932 passenger cars. This means the pinion gear would have 9 teeth and the ring gear would have 34 teeth. You might find "9-34" on the bottom of the center section to the rear of the torque tube flange, as posted by others... This will be a good indication IF the gears have not been changed to something else.

A way to confirm the above is to put the rear of the car on jack stands, put the transmission in neutral, drain the oil out of the rear, remove the filler plug, somehow "mark" a ring gear tooth; try cleaning one with something to get the oil off, then use a crayon to mark it. Once you have a decent mark, rotate the
ring gear with a screwdriver while counting the teeth until you get back to the
one that is marked. 4.11 will be 37 teeth, 3.78 will be 34 teeth, and 3.54 will be 39 teeth... (one of these is the same as a 4.333 neighborhood, but if you have those, you would notice that the car will not go very fast!!!) If the turtle number matches the banjo numbers and the ring gear teeth agree, it is pretty
certain.
 
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Charlie Stephens said:
I don't know what other people do but if I rebuilt a rear end I would change to 3.54 gears and probably not restamp the rear end.

Charlie Stephens
Click to expand...

Charlie, Charlie, Charlie... and I had so much faith in you!!! We might be the exception, but we ALWAYS restamp the rear banjo AND
if we use a "19" turtle with an "18" gear, we remove the 19 and stamp it 18, out of respect for the poor *******(s) that come along
later...sometimes MUCH later??? We do not to be "cursed at" after we are long gone... at least not for that!!!
 
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