[FOR SALE] A body 8 1/4 rear axle, comes with 3.5 gears, open diff, Tacoma, WA.

[Reed]

Selling the A body 8 1/4 axle I tried to install 3.5 gears into.

I bought this axle to put in my project 74 Duster. Originally, this was an 8 1/4 a body axle that had 2.2 gears in it. I pulled the 2.2 gears, replaced all the bearings and seals, and tried installing a 3.5:1 gear set. I ran into trouble and could not get the ring and pinion gears to mesh properly. Looking back, I believe the reason why the ring and pinion wouldn't mesh was because I installed the 3.5 pinion gear without any shims. There were no shims on the 2.2 pinion gear, so I figured the 3.5 pinion didn't need any either. I was wrong. I believe that if one were to take the time to pull the pinion bearing off the pinion gear and add the right thickness of shims the axle would be fine. But I have already found a different axle I like better, so I am selling this one.

As it sits, the axle housing has all new bearings and seals and a set of complete ten inch drum brakes that need attention loosely bolted to the axle. There are no gears or carrier in the housing, but the axle will come with the 2.2 gears and carrier as well as the 3.5 gears and carrier. The 3.5 ring gear is currently installed on the 2.2 gear carrier due to me trying to be creative and make things work.

I paid over $100 for the 3.5 gears and over $100 for the bearings and seals. If you order a shim kit and spend some time setting the axle up you could have a nice 8 1/4 axle with 3.5 gears for your A body. The axle was blasted and painted black by the former owner, so it is nice and clean.

I am asking $350 obo, but I am pretty flexible. You must pick it up from my house in Tacoma, WA, and you must take it all.

I might be interested in a full or partial trade for slant six/mopar parts or a rolling shell of a 1974-1984 Dodge short bed step side pickup, 74-79 Ramcharger/Trailduster or 80-84 2wd Ramcharger/Trailduster, an A100 van, or a 60s era Dodge town or panel wagon. I also have some other slant six and Mopar parts to trade (wheels, core 904s). If you want to trade me a vehicle, it must have a clean title able to be transferred legally. Let's make a deal!

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

The problem was the 2.20 carrier. You can not put a 3.55 gear on a carrier with a gear higher than a 2.71. It just won't work.

 

[Reed]

I first tried setting the axle up using the 3.5 ring gear, pinion gear, and the 3.5 carrier. The ring gear ended up about 1/4 inch too far away from the pinion gear to engage. I measured the 2.2 carrier and found that it places the ring gear about 1/4 inch closer to the pinion gear. So I put the 3.5 ring gear on the 2.2 carrier and tried again. This time the ring gear was too close to the pinion gear. And yes, I did use the adjusters.

My conclusion is that the 3.5 ring gear, pinion, and carrier should be used together but there needs to be spacers added to the pinion to put it closer to the ring gear. I bought a different axle and don't want to deal with setting up the gear mesh. So I am selling this collection of parts to someone who wants to put it all together.