Front and Rear Ring and Pinions

[CTX-SLPR]

Howdy,

This is a crazy question but can you run say a Ford 9in front gears in a rear pumpkin and housing? I think I figure out how to make my mid engined GMC V6 powered monster without having to make it a football feild long or resorting to an IRS to get a long enough driveshaft. Turn the driveline around backwards with the trans still in the tunnel and use front gears in the rear axle so it all turns the right way.

Ya'll think?

[squirrel]

Re: Front and Rear Ring and Pinions

or just flip the whole rearend upside down?

[CTX-SLPR]

Re: Front and Rear Ring and Pinions

brakes would be upside down, drain and fill plug/vent would be upside down, suspension mounts would be on the underside, not sure what else would get messed up with that idea. It would seem easier to just put the reverse rotation gears in it.

[squirrel]

Re: Front and Rear Ring and Pinions

How about just installing the pumpkin upside down instead? axle lenghts would probably be wrong...

Anyways, the gears don't turn the opposite direction just because they're reverse rotation, you do have to change the side the ring gear is on relative to the pinion gear.

and yeah, you would want to use reverse rotation gears...so they are loaded on the drive side.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Re: Front and Rear Ring and Pinions

Use a 12 bolt front axle and lock it so it won't steer.... I'm trying to think what the FoMoCo equivalent is - but drawing a blank.... best part(s) about using a front on the rear is you can break an axle and the wheels stay on... and you get large disk brakes....

[squirrel]

Re: Front and Rear Ring and Pinions

most 4x4s in the 60s-80s used the Dana 44 front end. GM started using the 10 bolt in the late 70s or so.

another idea: get that 4x4 front end and have normal ends put on it...same length as a normal rearend....so you can use stock axles and brakes.

[CTX-SLPR]

Re: Front and Rear Ring and Pinions

That would work, what if i wanted to make it 4wd so I'd need to put a set of rear gears in the front, would that not work.

[squirrel]

Re: Front and Rear Ring and Pinions

Hey, this is complicated stuff! still trying to figure out just exactly what it is you need to do what you want.

The reverse rotation gears that Summit sells are for a high pinion rearend that Currie makes for 4x4s.

I think the answer to your original question is "no". 4x4 front gears are standard rotation, but they are operated backwards (driving on the "coast" side of the teeth) when driving forwards.

To have the driveshaft turn the opposite direction on a rearend, you'd need to put the pinion on the other side of the ring gear, which you can do by inverting the whole rearend, or at least the center section. The gears will operate on the "coast" side.

(as for the difference between coast {F} and drive {E} side of hypoid gear teeth, see how one side of the tooth is at about 90 degree angle, the other is at about 45 degrees...the 90 is drive, and it is more efficient and stronger than the coast side)