I thought it was a 44, but it doesn't say 44 on it, so here are a few pics, says c-38 where it should say 44.



5

 

You have some interesting pics, though they lack most of the info that would otherwise make this easier to identify.
You would have used a 1/2" wrench or socket to remove this cover bolts, so this is a Dana 44. It appears that in the first pic you have a pinion that engages above the ring gear centerline, making this a high pinion. I see leaf springs so this makes it a 3/4 ton high pinion axle, which means that it is a 78/9 truck. Open differential is clear to see form the second pic. I cant quite make out the numbers on the ring gear, or I would tell you the ratio as well.

 

Ring gear numbers read like this:

8 2098 DANA D 33850 P8L241 45 11 927 S

The "S" is scribed on the ring gear & the pinion.
Thank you so much for your assistance.

 

Alright so the important numbers are the "45" and the "11". we can see that the gear set is a Dana Spicer, and in decent condition I might add.
Ok, back to the numbers. The 45 is the number of ring gear teeth, and the 11 is the pinion count. Divide the ring rear by the pinion and you get 4.0909. This is a 4.09:1 front gear ratio.

Could be some glare but the bolts appear to have been removed one time or another. THis is speculation on my part and is only an observation. Means nothing really.

Are you just identifying what you have? Or do you think you have a problem in there?
Looks fairly clean.

 

Looking at the third pic you can see the 44-9f stamped into the webbing on the bottom front left. I have the exact same front axle in my 77 f250.

 

Not sure if I have a problem or not, its likely, so just identifying at this point in the game. When I drained the front diff to service it, there was nothing there to drain, cover was slightly bent. However, there was noticable play between the ring and pinion, so I'm guessing that maybe the front diff burned up from no lube and was replaced in a hasty fashion. Don't know that to be a fact, I'm just trying to piece together the puzzle best I can. I was personally pretty happy with the way everything looked, except for the lack of oil. It does work properly in the driveway, but I haven't really used the front diff yet. I greatly appreciate your knowledge.

 

Did you clean the sealing surface? It appears that somone was inside and simply did not put oil in it. Ive seen this before. Keep in mind that if this truck has a Np 205, and the front hubs are in the "free" position, the ring and pinion will not be turning, so there wont be any heat generated and a lack of oil should not be a problem.
What you can do is borrow or purchase a dial indicator and verify the lash. This is the amount of play in the ring and pinion mesh. This is measured with a dial indiacator by placing a magnetic base on the surface of the sealing surface, and the opposite end of the indicator on one tooths edge of the ring gear iself. Rotate the ring gear until there is no play, and zero the indicator. Then rotate the ring gear in the opposite direction until the slack is taken up in the opposite direction. This slack, or play is measured with the indicator and will tell you how much play there is in the mesh itself. This lash verification will determine whether or not you have a problem. Next, purchase some gear marking compound and paint up the ring gear and rotate the carrier through several rotations. The pinion will wear away at the marking compound and you will see the "pattern" in the marking compound. Reading the markings or pattern requires a little training to see correctly but will help you determine whether or not the pinion depth is satisfactory or not.
This are simple and quick verifications to help you move closer to getting it back together. You should be able to see if the bearings are blue or discolored or not. Any noticable amount of heat generated in there would be indicated on the bearing race. Nohing really has to come apart to verify this. You can see it trough the sides of the bearing cap.
If you are satisfied with the pattern, and the lash seems to be within spec, then fix the diff cover and throw it back on here and go to town.
No teeth missing or anything real obvious, so you might just have a real clean front diff. Really, looks pretty good from the pics.

 

Yes, I did clean the surface, you might even notice some of the debris, as I took the picks before I washed everything back down. I definitely agree that everything looks nice and fresh in there when I cleaned it up, absolutely no blueing or anything, kind of why I thought it had a recent rebuild. I went ahead and cleaned and resealed everything, straightened the cover, and filled with fresh fluid, but I feel like there was just to much free play between the ring & pinion. It's just kind of odd, everything inside looks so nice and fresh, and then not shimmed properly? I was thinking that maybe the po just ran out of time, or money, or maybe he just threw the new chunk in there to sell the truck, and really didn't care? Doesn't really look like the chunk was out recently, but I could be wrong with that, since I've since gathered that the truck had not been used at all in the recent past contrary to what the po said before the $ exchanged hands. Any chance that you know what the proper lash, or free play should be, definitely a lot cheaper to check it sooner rather than later.

 

six to ten thousandths of an inch is suggested.

 

yeah, what he said.
75F350, you sure got these trucks down pat!

 

Don't even think I'll fool with the dial indicator, unless its just for kicks, because its probably closer to 3/16 to 1/4 of an inch!!!!! I really don't think I'm being exageratory with this either, I immediately noticed that there was a lot of play, but only in the mesh of the gears, all bearings seem to be in great shape. I'll remove it, and allow an experienced gear man set it up for me.

 

If you have that much play, then it is possible that there are several shims missing from one side of the carrier, and the entire thing will have to come apart. Running it like this will destroy the gear set. Unfortunately, to set these up, the axle shafts will have to be removed. This means that the spindles and such will have to come off. Not difficult to di, but involves a few extra hours of work.

 

2X JD lower left has the 44 cast into the housing. looks pretty clean Were all 44's 4.09 & the 60's 4.10?