My '59 project is coming along. I've cleaned up the rear half of the frame and am starting to cleaning up the rear end. I've removed the rear wheels and noticed that when I have the tranny in neutral and spin the drive shaft, only the passenger wheel spins. I'm inexperienced on rear diffs and this is the 9" rear - is this normal or should I be planning on opening it up and inspecting for something broken? I was hoping to get away with a gear oil change and avoid rebuilding the rear until later.

 

Normal open diff operation. If you hold the passenger side wheel, the driver side will spin.

Now if it doesn't spin, then:

A) your truck would not have moved under its own power

B) you have a broken axle or other part in the diff.

If things are normal, you should be able to spin one tire with the driveshaft locked and the other wheel will spin the opposite direction.

 

Thanks! I was reading up on open differentials and wasn't sure if that's what I had. I'll see if I can hold the passenger side still try it.