Drive Wheel

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Mar 8, 2001 | 05:42 AM

walterdanek

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Drive Wheel

Well, up here in Massachusetts we get some snow. The other day I had to take out a snow bank in order to miss a braking car. Guess who got stuck? Me. I have a '84 IL6. I watched my passenger side rear wheel helplessly spin on the ice, and my rear drivers side sitting on solid ground doing nothing. Then I had a thought "I'm more likely to have the snow banks on the passenger side, so why is my drive wheel there" What happens if I flip the rear end over so the drive wheel is on the drivers side? Would that mess up the gears? Would that work?
BTW, had to have my brother in-law push me out with his C***vy (how embarrassing)

Any thought to ease my rambling brain?
Walter

Mar 8, 2001 | 11:20 AM

BigBrownTruck

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Drive Wheel

You need to understand how an open differential works. The reason that your wheel on the ice was spinning and the one on solid ground wasn't, was because it could turn the ice wheel much easier than the non ice wheel, so thats the side that got the power. Had you been on the opposite side w/ opposite wheel on the ice, the same thing would have happened on that side. Traction-loc, limited slip differentials would remedy this somewhat, but face it, ice is slippery and without good traction, you can get stuck. A cheaper solution would be to have some tire chains on hand and weight over your axle.

BBT

Mar 16, 2001 | 06:38 PM

Rosati

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Drive Wheel

I almost agree with the above post. BUT! There is a way to use those econo axles to your advantage. If you set parking brake to just enough tension to hold the spinning wheel, you can slightly accelerate to transfer the weight to the other wheel, in most cases. I have done this in the mud many times and saved the tow bill.
Krosati

Mar 17, 2001 | 06:54 AM

walterdanek

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Drive Wheel

I never thought about that! I wish I would have known this before my brother in law showed with his smirk & Ch*&y. Looks like I'll have to find another snowbank (not hard around here) & give it a try

Walter

Mar 17, 2001 | 09:39 AM

wlmgshap

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Drive Wheel

I've also used the E-Brake method to unstick myself from some minor losses of brain function. If you are tite on cash and really want a traction device ,check out some of the new spider gear replacement packages on the market,mechanical prowess is involved in the installation,but all seem fairly straightforward. As for flipping over the axle, if you don't mind going in reverse to get to where you are going , go for it .

Mar 17, 2001 | 11:07 AM

walterdanek

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Drive Wheel

I heard of a few of those gear swaps. Sounds like the most affordable plan. Unless I can grab a rear end off a 4 x 4. Would that do it? More brain rumblings

Mar 19, 2001 | 07:35 AM

wlmgshap

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Drive Wheel

You don't mention if your truck is 4w.d. , apparently not. One thing to remember , not all 4w.d. trucks have a traction device in the rear diff. Check out your local junkyards for a rear that is similar to yours,it would most likely be either a Ford 8.8 or a Ford 9.0 unless you have a 3/4 ton then it could be anything. To tell the diff's apart , the 8.8 has a removeable cover over the rear of the housing. The 9.0 does not have a cover ,the whole "center section" is removeable. Then you can check the axle codes and call your local ford dealer or go to your local library or ask someone on this site to help you to decipher what all those numbers and letters mean. Remember if swapping rears, get the same gear ratio,if you can, as the one you are taking out there will be a minimum of changing if you do.

Bill